Singer Lady Gaga on Tuesday was honored
for her gay rights advocacy with a prize in memory of John Lennon.
The 26-year-old Lady Gaga shared the
biennial LennonOno Grant for Peace with Russian punk band Pussy Riot,
the late peace activist Rachel Corrie, civil rights activist John
Perkins, and the late writer Christopher Hitchens.
Yoko Ono, the widow of Lennon,
presented Lady Gaga with the award at a ceremony in Reykjavik,
Iceland. Tuesday was also the birthday of both John Lennon and his
son, singer Sean Lennon.
“I will be donating this grant to the
Elton John AIDS Foundation and I will be working closely with them to
ensure that the money goes specifically to those orphaned and
disadvantaged youth in America born with HIV or AIDS,” Lady Gaga
said in accepting the prize.
Ono called Lady Gaga “powerful” in
remarks to the AFP.
“[I]t's great that she is using her
power to do other things than just singing,” Ono added.
The size of the award was not
disclosed.