Pop singer Lady Gaga released a new song and PSA Thursday night, which aims to warn young women of the realities of campus sexual assault.
“Till It Happens to You” was co-written by Oscar-nominated songwriter Diane Warren, and the video was directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight).
The PSA starts with a disclaimer 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 all black-and-white video then tells the sexual assault stories of four different women:
“Till It Happens to You” was recorded to tie in with the documentary The Hunting Ground, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and centers on rape culture in college campuses across the U.S.
Lady Gaga took to Twitter to announce the song was available on iTunes Thursday, and told fans a portion of the project’s proceedings will go to help survivors of sexual assault:
Lady Gaga told The Howard Stern Show in 2014 she was raped as a teenager.
Warren told Deadline of the song and video, “After watching The Hunting Ground, I was inspired by the survivors who had the courage to tell their stories… This song, with its message of hope and empowerment, is my heartfelt tribute to them and will also resonate with anyone who has been bullied, lost a loved one or just feels alone in the world.”
Hardwicke told the site, “I hope that this PSA, with its raw and truthful portrayals, will send a clear message that we need to support these courageous survivors and end this epidemic plaguing our college campuses.”
The Hunting Ground will premiere on CNN later this year.
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