President Obama Says Lady Gaga 'Intimidating' After First Meeting
President Barack Obama has told attendees of a LGBT advocacy gala Saturday that Lady Gaga was “intimidating,” after meeting the Queen of Pop for the first time last week.
Obama told the group of lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in attendance that he had “some productive bilateral talks with [their] leader, Lady Gaga,” last week.
Those attending the annual Human Rights Campaign gala in Washington D.C. erupted in applause as President Obama continued,
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“She was wearing 16-inch heels. She was eight feet tall. It was a little intimidating.”
Obama and Gaga met for the first time at a fundraiser for the president’s re-election campaign held at Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s California home.
Gaga wore a floor-length black dress and sky-high heels, which put her two feet taller than the six-foot-one Obama.
It is not clear what the two discussed, but Gaga had previously tweeted that she would meet with President Obama in regards to his anti-bullying campaign, following the suicide of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer.
"I am meeting with our President. I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey," Lady Gaga tweeted last month.
The tragic death of Rodemeyer, a victim of bullying, had incited Gaga to address this problem that many adolescents and teens face, with Obama.
Rodemeyer, trying to inspire other bullied teens, posted his own "It Gets Better" video on YouTube where he discussed the torment he encountered upon coming out to his peers.
"I felt like I could never escape it," Rodemeyer stated. "People would constantly send me hate, telling me that gay people go to hell."
However, the Williamsville, N.Y., teen added, "I just want to tell you it does get better. I got so much support from my friends and it made me feel so secure."
Rodemeyer acknowledged that Lady Gaga, his idol, brought him happiness because "she lets me know I was born this way."
"That's my advice to you from her [Gaga] – You were born this way," the 14-year-old said. "All you have to do is hold your head up and you'll go far."
According to his parents, Tracy and Tim Rodemeyer, their son ended his life after years of abuse from school bullies because of his sexuality.
Lady Gaga, who was thanked in the final entry on Rodemeyer's Tumblr page, has expressed her sadness and outrage at the tragic end of such a young life.
"The past days I've spent reflecting, crying and yelling. I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someones life," she wrote on Twitter.
Gaga added, "Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying. Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime."
