“She is not only an artist, she is also an activist, using her art to bring better communication to the world,” Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono said in a
statement about the award, meant to honor Lennon's fight for world peace. Gaga's work on behalf of gay, lesbian and transgendered persons was noted by Ono, who said that Gaga's album 'Born This Way' has “changed the mental map of the world.”
Lady Gaga, Pussy Riot and Christopher Hitchens
Pussy Riot is the Russian activist/punk-rock group that stages impromptu protest performances. One of their performances last February in a Moscow cathedral, and the subsequent video they posted, saw three of their members arrested and ultimately
imprisoned for two years for hooliganism.
Christopher Hitchens was the award winning and maverick British American journalist and author who railed with intelligence against the establishment and church; Hitchens died of cancer last December at the age of 61.
Lady Gaga will attend the ceremony to receive her award in Reykjavik, Iceland on Oct. 9.
