Recently, I’ve been thinking hard about Gaga’s response to her wearing (what is allegedly) a fur garment, as well as the leather, meat, and other animals she’s worn. As a vegan, it upsets me that she promotes such a beautiful message, yet values the coat and fur of an animal more than the animal’s life itself. While I still love and respect Gaga, her choice to continue to exploit animals this way does indeed sadden me. The life of a living being is more important than fashion. Gaga can look beautiful and make a statement without having to kill an animal. I will always stand for the rights of animals and applaud those who stand up for them. I’m hoping that Gaga will eventually come to see that animals do not belong to us, and that they are not ours to exploit for fashion. In the mean time, there is a certain gray area for me when it comes to dealing with issues like this. My close friends and family are still omnivores, and I will never stop supporting or loving them, even if they do choose to consume animals. The same goes for Gaga. While I openly disagree with her opinion on the matter, I will continue to support all that she does. As a total force for cultural impact, Gaga’s reputation as a leader for so many young people is very important and to discontinue supporting her for this reason alone would be more damaging than helpful.