A few years ago, DEI pledges and conversations about allyship were everywhere. But with the second Trump administration, many companies have either explicitly cut these programs or let them fade away quietly.
Yet, the issues that made DEI initiatives necessary in the first place have not vanished and minority groups continue to face discrimination in the workplace and beyond. How can individuals—both managers and employees—continue to be allies at a time when it isn’t at the forefront of the conversation?
One potential source of inspiration is Lady Gaga, who has been a consistently staunch advocate and ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, she’s been using her platform to speak out on behalf of trans people as their rights and lives are under attack.
Lady Gaga’s Grammy Speech and Interview with Zane Lowe
This February, the 67th Grammy Awards aired shortly after President Trump issued an executive order declaring the U.S. only recognizes two sexes (despite overwhelming scientific evidence).
So when Lady Gaga won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars, she took her moment on stage to validate the trans community: “I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible,” Gaga said. “Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love.”
In March, Lady Gaga sat down with DJ Zane Lowe to chat about her upcoming album, Mayhem. During the interview, she reflected on her Grammy speech and affirmed that the attack on trans people is ongoing.
“What trans people are being faced with in this world is completely unfair, wrong, and there’s this violence that’s taking place on a daily basis in their lives,” Gaga said. “I think that we all need to support trans people and each other to know that they deserve to be supported and loved and protected and lifted up.”
Lady Gaga’s Legacy of LGBTQ+ Advocacy
Gaga’s recent remarks are not the first time she’d advocated for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2009, when Gaga first rose to prominence, she immediately became subject to rumors that she was assigned male at birth. Rather than denying the claim, Gaga instead told Anderson Cooper that maybe the rumors were true and “Would it be so terrible?”—a response that was highly impactful to trans fans at the time.
Gaga also spoke out against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” bringing four LGBT soldiers who had been discharged to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and headlining a rally calling for the act to be repealed.
In 2024, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney received online abuse for an International Women’s Day post; Lady Gaga responded on her own Instagram, calling out not just those attacking Mulvaney, but also the media’s framing of their actions as “backlash” rather than hatred or violence.
Lessons in Advocacy and Allyship from Lady Gaga
There isn’t one definition or “way” to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ (or any) community. However, a survey of LGBTQ+ individuals about how they define allyship identified a few common themes, and Lady Gaga lives out many of them.
Advocacy and allyship require action.
Accepting, validating, and respecting the identities of LGBTQ+ people is foundational to being a strong ally, but it’s not enough on its own. A good ally takes action through public statements, advocacy, and education over the long term.
From the beginning of her career, Lady Gaga has taken action on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community, whether it’s validating trans people at a time when they feel attacked and alone in 2025 or speaking at the National Equality March on Washington in 2009.
A good ally respects all lived experiences and never stops listening and learning.
In her interview with Lowe, Gaga talked about how, as an ally, it’s essential to continue learning and understanding the stories of others: “What every community that is oppressed goes through is different. It’s all unique experience, and then there’s individual people and everyone’s individual experience is different.”
Gaga called learning people’s stories a “great gift” that has taught her a lot about oppression and what she can do to help.
An ally uses their privilege to help others.
Gaga regularly recognizes her privilege as a cis woman and as a person with a platform, and uses these advantages to help challenge systemic injustices and advocate for others.
In 2011, following a fan’s death by suicide, Lady Gaga met with President Obama to urge him to do more to protect children against bullying. In 2012, she and her mother founded the Born This Way Foundation to connect young people to mental health resources and destigmatize mental health.
Most people don’t get a chance to tell a roomful of musicians and television viewers all over the world whatever they want, so when all eyes were on Lady Gaga at this year’s Grammys, she used her moment to speak out for trans people.
Lady Gaga shows that true allyship is not performative but an ongoing, active commitment to justice.
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