This story is a continuation of our coverage of our partnership with Cotton On via the Kinder, Braver Together campaign. To read part one, an interview with Cynthia Germanotta, President and Co-Founder of Born This Way Foundation and Mark Pan, of Cotton On, click here.
Later that evening, a few hours before showtime, I gather outside the Haus of Gaga Museum on the casino floor of the Park MGM – a Lady Gaga fan’s paradise holding the star’s most iconic looks and performance art pieces, ranging from tour outfits to the vessel she was carried in on the red carpet before she performed “Born This Way” live on the 53rd Grammy Awards. Ten Gaga fans and their plus-ones are anxiously waiting, and Josh Meredith, Born This Way Foundation’s Chief of Staff, carries with him tickets to the night’s show as well as wristbands that read “Meet and Greet.” I sit back timidly, watching their reactions knowing that in a few short hours, they were about to meet their idol.
Eventually, I followed Josh inside the venue with the group of winners. After he quickly introduced me to the group, the fans, some clearly overwhelmed, opened up about the work of the Foundation and why it was meaningful to them.
Alan Sommer shared: “When I was a teenager, [the foundation] became a great resource for me – not just for finding out about my sexuality but also my sense as a person. It helped me relate to others, find ways to communicate with others. It helped me to be kind, to be helpful, to be resourceful to other people.” He says. “It also gave me great memories. Specifically, I went to The Born Brave Bus. [The foundation] has been there – the message, and the community that it has built, has brought us all together.”
Another winner, Jess Sleza, shares a similar story. “I think one of the most important things – especially for youth – is mental health. Being supported helps you just grow into being the best version of yourself, and Born This Way Foundation started when I was in those vulnerable teenage years where I really needed something to tell me to keep going and be strong. I remember to this day, the Born Brave Bus in Time Square,” she says. “To see all of Gaga’s messages in the flesh, she’s not just out there singing about it, she’s out there putting effort into everything that she does. The love that she puts out into this world can be seen really through this foundation, and the partnerships that they do.”
She points to our Channel Kindness anthology book, released in 2021. “[The book]—on a rough day, it’s always on my desk, and if I need to flip through a random page to re-inspire myself after a rough day at work, it’s always there.”
She met her plus one, Aaron, through fan communities online, and she mentions how they’ve “been there” for one another. “It’s been a very difficult year. I’ll text Aaron or I’ll tweet and he’ll immediately text me like ‘Hey, how’s everything going?’” Jess continues. “And it’s just simple messages. It’s just quick messages. It’s something so simple to just shoot a text. I’m in New York; he’s in Virginia; that doesn’t matter. That’s always there. To think we just met on a group chat online and it just grew from there is so telling of the Little Monster community. And sure, we’ll talk about Gaga’s music and photoshoots and everything, but at the core, that’s what it really is. It’s the friendships and the dancing together and singing together and going out to dinner and catching up; it’s just been so beautiful.”
Aaron is visibly moved with tears in his eyes. “I lost my grandfather two and a half months ago. She was there for me,” he says, clearly emotional. As I apologize for making him cry, Jess chimes in. “These emotions were happening one way or another. It’s healing. The universe just has a way.”
After Gaga plays her set to a sold out crowd and a live band, I gather backstage at the Dolby Theater where a line is formed behind a red curtain. It’s here where the contest winners will meet their hero, and before she takes photos with each of them, Gaga walks into the line and thanks them for coming and supporting the work of her foundation through the Kinder, Braver Together campaign and the partnership with Cotton On. You can tell she genuinely breathes kindness and bravery, and after each individual gets their photo, I watch them leave with looks of shock on their faces and their hands cupped over their mouths, some in tears and in genuine disbelief over what just happened. As the end of the line approaches and I walk over to say my goodbyes to Gaga and to thank her for the last few days, I’m grateful for the work the foundation and the fans have built and help make possible – a partnership that not only makes the dreams of her biggest fans come true, but help makes a kinder and braver world.
