Vice president, Lady Gaga again team up against sex assault

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Expect plenty of applause for Vice-President Joe Biden and superstar singer Lady Gaga when they take the stage Thursday at an event in Las Vegas to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses.

The seemingly odd couple is stopping at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ Cox Pavilion as part of the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign. Lady Gaga is expected to perform at the afternoon event.

Biden has been heavily promoting the initiative that urges people to support sexual assault victims and intervene when consent is questionable. In addition to a half-dozen rallies over the past year at college campuses, the vice-president also recently spoke about the issue at a NCAA men’s basketball tournament game and at the Academy Awards in February.

At the Oscars, Biden introduced Lady Gaga for her performance of “Til It Happens to You,” a nominee for best original song. It appeared in “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses.

The singer, who performed on stage surrounded by sex assault survivors, has talked openly about being sexually assaulted when she was 19. She told The Associated Press in an interview before the ceremony that it would be liberating.

“It’s something in my life that’s always really kind of defined me up until this point,” she said.

In his introduction, Biden called Lady Gaga a friend and “courageous lady.” The two partnered up after Biden met Diane Warren, the lead songwriter of “Til It Happens to You,” last fall at an “It’s On Us” event, according to the vice-president’s office. The song’s music video urges people to join the campaign.

Domestic violence prevention has been a signature issue for Biden since he championed the Violence Against Women Act in the Senate in 1994. He will visit the University of Colorado, Boulder, for another rally Friday.