Digital Skin, Robotics, and Holograms Part of Musical Performance Tribute to David Bowie FEB 2016 –Â Intel and Lady Gaga come together for an amazing musical Grammy performance with digital skin, interactive video, a piano coming to life in robotics, and interactive holograms. Lady Gaga also paid tribute to music legend David Bowie by starting with…
Musician-Activist Tweets “We Have a Chance to Write This Moment in History” April 27, 2015 – JTMP applauds the bravery of Bruce Jenner for finally being who he is, a transgender person who closely aligns with being a female. Â The world-famous athlete came out last week and told Diane Sawyer and the world that…
MAR 21, 2014 – Lady Gaga's charitable foundation "Born This Way" is being criticized for being long on expenses, and short on actual charity. It is hard to criticize Lady Gaga because she has done tremendous work in promoting LBGT rights, but this looks bad. The foundation's tax records shows that it took in $2.65 million in revenue, and paid out over $400,000 in legal fees, $300,000 for "strategic development" and $150,000 for "philanthropic consulting". Huh? Some very lucky hotels got over $77,000, and then there is the $50,000 for "social-media development" (one of her friends got an awesome job maintaining her Facebook page and Twitter account probably) and other expenses which don't sound too much like actual charity. That word is being blurred these days, from adding a wing to a museum so rich people can view art to religions proselytizing and not actually feeding the poor. Read more about Lady Gaga's foundation Born This Way's mess on NYPost here. (photo credit: Stephen Carlisle/CC)
APR 3, 2012 – JTMP blogged last year about how Lynyrd Skynyrd was booked to play at last year's Republican National Convention, (weather kept them from doing the concert) and how it wasn't approved of by 100% of the band; but it turns out there was even something bigger going on behind the scenes when it came to the RNC and music.
The RNC wanted to have Lady Gaga headline an event "honoring women who run for public office" at the 2012 RNC, and were so desperate and eager that at one point offered her $1 Million to play. She turned it down. Also, other musicians such as Dolly Parton turned down an offer to perform at the 2013 RNC. Read more on a blog by Susan Ferrechio on The Examiner. (photo credit: CC/Stephen Carlile)
MAR 23, 2012 – UPDATE: JTMP earlier reported on the anti-gay band Junkyard Prophet that put on a a hate-filled attack on the LBGT community at a high school and shocking the students who were unable to leave. (Watch the video below). The principal of Dunkerton High School facing heavy pressure resigned his position, but tried to assert he was leaving the position anyway for a superintendents position. Yeah right. A promotion for him? Turns out the band has spouted their hate at the school several times before.
Junkyard Prophet is part of this hate "ministry" called "You Can Run But You Cannot Hide" where they set up tables and pass out flyers filled with hateful attacks on the LBGT community, and they even vowed to return to Dunkertown, Iowa after getting all the heat following their tirade at the school back on March 8. The Dunkerton Community Hall board of directors denied them access, and the superintendent says they will NOT be performing at the school. "It won't be here" said school superintendent Jim Stanton. They ended up meeting Dunkerton parents at a church and tried to "explain themselves".
Bradlee Dean, founder of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, clearly lays out their anti-gay, anti-equality stance on the ministry's website: "…we cannot accept the proposal that homosexuality is either private or moral." They also ridiculously assert that the gay community "is nothing but a political opportunity to the liberals".
MAR 5, 2012 – Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta have launched the "Born This Way Foundation", a non-profit based out of Harvard University with a mission to stop bullying against the LBGT community in our schools and society. In a statement Lady Gaga said, "My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation. Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment."
A "Born To Be Brave" bus will follow her current North American tour, to help spread awareness on this issue. A kick-off event was held on February 29, 2012, and along with Lady Gaga speaking, there was Oprah and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and others. Connect on Facebook with JTMP and Born This Way, and watch the video below of the event.
Lady Gaga sent a anti-bullying video to a Toronto school, after Jacques St. Pierre, a student at the school, organized an assembly with an anti-bullying theme. He then emailed celebrities and asked for their support, and Lady Gaga personally emailed him with the video. Read more on HuffPO here, and watch the video below.
Oct 16, 2011 – Musicians and stars, such as The Edge, Bono, Usher and more gathered in Hollywood to celebrate 10 years of the Clinton Foundation making a difference in the world. Kenny Chesney, Lady Gaga, K'Naan, and Juanes also performed to celebrate the former President's 65th birthday. Watch moments from the show, including a nervous moment for President Clinton when Lady Gaga channeled Marilyn Monroe.
President Clinton started his foundation "with the mission to alleviate poverty, improve global health, strengthen economies, and protect the environment, by fostering partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and private citizens — leveraging their expertise, resources, and passions — to turn good intentions into measurable results." To find out more about the Clinton Foundation, click here.
To watch replay clips from the show click here, or watch the video below.
Sting appeared on Morning Joe to talk about his upcoming 60th birthday party this Saturday (October 1st) and a benefit concert he will be playing to help the Robin Hood Foundation, an organization that in Sting's words does "…fantastic work." (see video below) He added, "They really help underprivileged people in the city, people who lack the basic wherewithal to live, and I think that's a great thing to do."
Sting also talked about how throughout his career he spoke out about the issues he cares about, and made the case for others to speak out saying, "I've always demanded citizen's rights, but you also have to have citizen's responsibilities, and as a citizen of the world if you have a platform to say something useful, then you should use that." Sting has supported many causes over the years, from rain forest preservation, famine and sustainability.
Sting also spoke about Lady Gaga and her activism, and admired how she spoke out saying, "I love the things she says, I love the messages she gives to her audience, very positive messages. I think that is needed. From my point of view, I like people who can speak up and say, 'this is wrong, you should change this', and she's one of those people. She's very outspoken and intelligent."
JTMP blogged earlier how Robin Hood has already teamed up with the Black Eyed Peas for a benefit concert in New York's Central Park, which will be this Friday, September 30th. Sting's concert will be this Saturday, October 1st, and will be held at the Beacon Theatre. For more information check out the Robin Hood website here. Watch the Sting interview below:
