Lady Gaga did a stirring rendition of "Til It Happens to You," a song co-written with Diane Warren for the documentary The Hunting Ground, which focuses on the rampant sexual assaults that occur on college campuses, at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. The film was intended to bring awareness and inspire the powers that be to do more in order to prevent these assaults and stop the victim blaming culture that is far too familiar. Gaga also recently opened up about being a survivor of rape herself at a TimesTalks panel. The Hunting Ground was directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering.
"I always tell this story about how Diane had to convince me that it was okay to sing about this and reveal this thing about myself," Gaga said before her performance according to The Hollywood Reporter. Tears then came to her eyes as she thanked the filmmakers, and said, "Thank you for allowing me to be a part of something truly authentic."
She then sat down at the keyboard with Warren for the performance and following it, urged the attendees, saying, "If you are taking care of young people in the industry, make sure that you ask them lots of things about their sexuality and well-being."
The Hollywood Reporter also caught up with Warren regarding the steps that it took to complete the emotionally charged song. "It starts out vulnerable and then defiant, just like the girls in the movie," she told the publication. "I wanted to write a song about what these girls went through and I wanted it to be empowering, and then outside of the movie I wanted it to be whatever you wanted it to be about, like bullying and grief."
It was a powerful moment when Gaga opened up about her own rape at the age of 19 at the TimesTalks panel last month, with a vivid description of how it changed her to the point of physical repercussions. Like many, Gaga did not speak out on the trauma for a long time afterwards (a full seven years). The singer also recently opened up about her own struggles with anxiety and depression and reported going through a really dark spell in 2014.
