Lady Gaga is back with disturbing videos as she releases "Til It Happens to You" but this time, there have been no trace of high fashion and avant garde concept as the video seems like a public service announcement regarding campus rape.
The 29-year-old singer songwriter recorded the song earlier this year with Diane Warren for the documentary The Hunting Ground, which tackles the issue of college rape and sexual assault.
The 5 minute video is prefaced with a title card that reads, "The following contains graphic content that may be emotionally unsettling but reflects the reality of what is happening daily on college campuses," the video was directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) and was shot entirely in black and white. The video shows different women being sexually assaulted and harassed in fraternity parties, and in their dorm rooms. It was also seen how these assaults lingers on the victims as they were seen writing phrases in their bodies like "I am worthless", "Believe me" and "Sometimes I hate myself".
The simplicity of the visuals communicated poignant yet powerful message that gives a voice to the victims of campus rape and sexual assault, not to mention it complimented Lady Gaga's lyrics of the song:
"Till your world burns and crashes/
Till you're at the end, the end of your rope
Till you're standing in my shoes/
I don't wanna hear a thing from you
Cause you don't know"
Us Magazine reports that in 2014, the famous "Born This Way" singer revealed during an interview with Howard Stern that she was raped by a music producer when she was 19.
"I went through some horrific things," Gaga said. "I'm able to laugh now because I've gone through a lot of mental and physical therapy and emotional therapy to heal over the years."
The singer posted a series of tweets about the project: "for people all over the world who suffer from painful life experiences."
@diane_warren & I made "Til It Happens To You" for people all over the world who suffer from painful life experiences. #TheHuntingGround
We hope u feel our love&solidarity through the song & perhaps find some peace in knowing u r not alone through this film #TilItHappensToYou
The video then ends with the statistic that says, "One in five women will be sexually assaulted this year unless something changes," and flashes the number of National Sexual Assault Hotlline.
Watch the powerful music video here
