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Lady Gaga Launches Born This Way Foundation

Mother Monster taps her own mom, Cynthia Germanotta, in push to fight bullying and inspire young fans. By Jocelyn Vena Lady Gaga Photo: Credit KCSPresse / Splash News Lady Gaga has always made it her mission to empower her little monsters. On Wednesday (November 2), Mother Monster announced she’s launching the Born This Way Foundation, which aims to further inspire young people. The pop superstar is even getting some help from her very own Mother Monster, Cynthia Germanotta. “My mother and I have initiated a passion project. We call it the Born This Way Foundation,” Gaga said in a statement about the foundation, which takes its name from her hit single and album . “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.” The foundation will work with a number of partners, including the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. According to the statement, the foundation will focus on “youth empowerment and equality by addressing issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development and will utilize digital mobilization as one of the means to create positive change.” Gaga has been a leader in shedding a light on the issue of bullying. She met with President Obama at a fundraiser in September to talk about the bullying epidemic, after she was touched in particular by the suicide of bullied 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer . “The past days I’ve spent reflecting, crying, and yelling,” she tweeted when news of the teen’s death broke in September. “I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone’s life.” She went on to post Rodemeyer’s “It Gets Better” video, urging that bullying “must become illegal. It is a hate crime.” Lady Gaga isn’t the only pop star using the public spotlight to give back. On Tuesday, Justin Bieber announced the creation of his Believe Charity Drive and noted that partial proceeds from the sale of his brand-new Under the Mistletoe album will be donated to charitable organizations. Related Videos MTV First: Lady Gaga Related Artists Lady Gaga

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Lady Gaga Launches Born This Way Foundation

Zachary Quinto ‘Grateful’ For Support After Coming Out

‘Star Trek’ actor tells MTV News the response has been ‘enormously supportive — universally, unanimously supportive.’ By Eric Ditzian Zachary Quinto Photo: MTV News Since Zachary Quinto pronounced himself a “gay man” in a New York magazine interview and then took to his blog to pen an explanation about his decision to come out, the “Star Trek” actor has been overwhelmed by the positive response across the Web. “It’s been enormously supportive — universally, unanimously supportive,” he told MTV News on Monday morning (October 17) while promoting his Wall Street drama “Margin Call.” “I’m really grateful for that.” Quinto explained that the recent suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, a young teen who was the victim of gay bullying, made him realize that he could no longer live a gay life without acknowledging in public that he was, in fact, gay. From the timelines of Twitter to the comments section on his blog, the response to his announcement has been supportive. “I admire your courage for looking inside yourself and realizing what kind of real power you have for making a difference,” one commenter on his blog wrote. While the actor has been an outspoken advocate on gay issues in the past, recording an “It Gets Better” video last fall, Quinto told us he’s now looking forward to diving more fully into the ever-evolving conversation about teen sexuality and bullying. “I feel like I made that declaration so that I can be a part of this conversation moving forward,” he told us. “I did it in my own time, on my own terms, in my own words. That’s exactly the way that I wanted to do it, and I’m really proud of that. When the time is right to continue the conversation forward, I certainly will do that. That’s why I took those steps in the first place.”

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Zachary Quinto ‘Grateful’ For Support After Coming Out

Zachary Quinto Announces He’s A ‘Gay Man’

‘Star Trek’ actor had dodged rumors before making revelation in New York magazine. By Gil Kaufman Zachary Quinto Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/ Getty Images For years, “Star Trek” actor Zachary Quinto dodged questions about his sexuality, preferring to keeping his private life private and let his work on TV shows such as “Heroes” and movies like the recent “What’s Your Number” do the talking. Then, unexpectedly, he offhandedly outed himself in an interview with New York magazine, while discussing his starring role last year in the restaging of the early AIDS-era drama “Angels in America.” Quinto told the magazine that his eight-month role in the epic Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tony Kushner was “the most challenging thing I’ve ever done as an actor and the most rewarding”; he took on the grueling role of Louis Ironson, a character who walks out on his AIDS-stricken boyfriend. “And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there’s still so much work to be done, and there’s still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed.” Quinto, who has been outspoken on gay rights issues in the past, told The New York Times last year that even though blogs were full of speculation about his orientation, he preferred “not to feed the rumor mill with either substantiation or dismissal.” But the events of the past year appear to have had an impact on him and Quinto seemed comfortable at this point announcing his orientation. Thinking about how the last few months have seen gay marriage legalized in New York while also marking the recent suicide of bullied gay teen Jamey Rodemeyer , Quinto said, “And again, as a gay man I look at that and say there’s a hopelessness that surrounds it, but as a human being I look at it and say ‘Why? Where’s this disparity coming from, and why can’t we as a culture and society dig deeper to examine that?’ We’re terrified of facing ourselves.” He was also glad to be in town promoting the financial crisis thriller “Margin Call” — the first feature from his production company, Before the Door Pictures — while hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters are camped out in New York’s Zuccotti Park . “The timing couldn’t be more impeccable for us to try to create a dialogue, which is exactly why we made the movie in the first place,” he said. While he’s in town to promote the film, Quinto said he planned to go down and see the protesters to get a flavor of the sit-in. “As a left-leaning Democrat, I feel a sense of resonance with their position,” he said. “But as a citizen of this country, I feel deeply unsettled that people are rising up in movements against each other. It feels like we’re missing the mark. … The bottom line is we’re all f—ed, and we’re all in this together.”

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Zachary Quinto Announces He’s A ‘Gay Man’

When Lady Gaga Met President Obama …

It was intimidating. For Barack. When Lady Gaga came face to face with President Obama at a fundraising event held by the Human Rights Campaign, gay advocacy organization, in San Francisco on September 25, there were no photos allowed at the private event. Too bad, because one would’ve been worth a thousand words. “She was wearing 16-inch heels,” Obama told reporters after the run-in with the pop superstar. “She was eight feet tall. It was a little intimidating.” The press pool said that she added a black veil and a bouffant hairstyle to complete the look, but no one was able to see the evidence until this rare photo surfaced. You can thank jewelry designer Rodrigo Otazu, who was there for the origin of Lady Gaga’s meat dress , and who crafted her diamond teeth, for the image above. “When she went to see President Obama, she wore one of my necklaces and earrings. She looked like the character from ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,'” says Otazu. Gaga showed up at the $35,800 fundraiser to lobby for anti-bullying policies and enforcement, an issue she cares deeply about. Especially given recent events. The next day, she honored late fan Jamey Rodemeyer in concert.

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When Lady Gaga Met President Obama …