Lady Gaga dedicated a performance of her hit single Hair to Jamey Rodemeyer, a gay 14-year-old Buffalo-area high school freshmen who killed himself after enduring years of bullying over his sexuality.
"We lost a Little Monster this week," Gaga told a crowd at the iHeartRadio Festival Saturday. "I wanted to dedicate this song to him tonight because he was really young."
"I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school... So tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us, and you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us. I know it's a bit of a downer, but sometimes the right thing is more important than the music."
"I just wanna be myself / And I want you to love me for who I am," Gaga sings. "I've had enough / This is my prayer / That I'll die living just as free as my hair."
The singer announced last week that she wanted to meet with President Barack Obama and urge him to press for laws making bullying a federal hate crime.
Rodemeyer, who had been a big Lady Gaga fan, even thanked her in his final blog post. In a YouTube video posted earlier this year, the teen had said how much he loved the singer.
"Lady Gaga, she makes me so happy, and she lets me know that I was born this way," he explained.
Police are considering harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes charges for the students who bullied Rodemeyer.