Lady Gaga will soon advise the White House and several federal cultural institutions, alongside a host of other American stars. Washington announced on Thursday the appointment of the singer as co-chair of the Committee
for the Arts and Humanities, an advisory commission dismantled in 2017, at the start of Donald Trump’s mandate.
This is not the first political glance from Lady Gaga to the current tenant of the White House. Declared support of the Democratic president, the musician with 170 million albums has been displayed on several occasions alongside Joe Biden, in particular within the framework of the prevention campaign “It’s On Us”.
Launched under the presidency of Barack Obama, the initiative was dedicated to the fight against sexist and sexual assaults on American campuses. The diva was also invited to Joe Biden’s investiture ceremony in January 2021 and performed the American anthem for the occasion.
Artists, researchers and philanthropists
Among the twenty-four committee members are also George Clooney, Jennifer Garner, musician Jon Batiste, Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman and award-winning deaf actor Troy Kotsur. last year of the Oscar for best actor in a supporting role for his appearance in Coda. These different personalities were selected because they represent « eminent artists, researchers and philanthropists who have demonstrated a serious commitment to the arts and human sciences », in the words of the American presidency.
The post of second co-chairman of this committee in the process of being reconstituted has been awarded to producer Bruce Cohen, who has notably worked on American Beauty by Sam Mendes, Big Fish by Tim Burton or the political biopic Milk by Gus Van Sant. . First Lady Jill Biden will also, per tradition, serve as the group’s honorary chair. The full list of committee members is available on the White House website.
The revival of the Committee for the Arts and Humanities came to fruition with an executive order from Joe Biden signed last September. The arts and humanities « are the soul of America and reflect our multicultural and democratic experience, » said the executive order, which refers to the power of these fields of endeavor to « stimulate creativity and innovation » and » force us to confront our history and imagine our future”.
