Lady Gaga wants to put an end to bullying. The singer even created a nonprofit called the Born This Way Foundation to pursue this mission.
On Friday 6 October, she took another step in her efforts.
Gaga posted a video message on Instagram addressed to the students at El Marino Elementary School in California, US, on behalf of her friend’s daughter, Venice.
Venice’s mum is beauty therapist Joomee Song, who works with Gaga. “Hi everybody at El Marino Elementary. This is Lady Gaga. I’m friends with Venice, and I work with Venice’s mummy, Joomee,” the singer said in her video message. “I’m really, really sad to hear that Venice is being bullied at school.”
Gaga noted that she does a lot of anti-bullying work and knows that bullying “can really change the growth and the happiness of children all over the world”.
The singer said: “So I encourage you all to be kind to one another and to search within your community for bravery. Sometimes it’s hard to stand up against the popular kids, you know, and hang out with someone that’s being bullied. But be the bigger person. Be kinder. Be braver. Go and sit with Venice and have lunch. Be a rebel.”
The Instagram video has been viewed more than 1.5 million times. El Marino Elementary School did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment, but the school is part of Culver City Unified School District, which has an anti-bullying task force dedicated to Gaga’s same mission.
Indeed, as the singer wrote in the caption, “No child should have to sit alone at lunch or constantly be outcast. Let’s empower each other to be kinder and braver.”
This story was originally published on the US version of HuffPost.