Lady Gaga Awarded Key to West Hollywood as Mayor Declares “Born This Way Day”

Lady Gaga’s album Born This Way celebrated its 10th anniversary on Sunday, and to mark the occasion, the City of West Hollywood officially declared May 23 “Born This Way Day.” Gaga was also awarded the key to the city by West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath. “Thank you for encouraging us to love ourselves and be proud,” Horvath told Gaga. A street painting featuring the album’s title was also unveiled today to kick off West Hollywood’s Pride season.

“Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being ‘Born This Way.‘ Notably his early work was in 1975, 11 years before I was born,” Gaga wrote. “Thank you for decades of relentless love, bravery, and a reason to sing. So we can all feel joy, because we deserve joy. Because we deserve the right to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for all.”

Read Pitchfork’s feature “50 Songs That Define the Last 50 Years of LGBTQ+ Pride.”