Joe Biden Supports Sexual Assault Survivors At Oscars 2016, Introduces Lady Gaga Performance

Vice President Joe Biden attended the 2016 Oscars Sunday night, introducing Lady Gaga and giving a powerful speech in support of sexual assault victims.

Joe Biden At The Oscars

Before delving into his speech, the affable vice president offered a joke to the crowd of filmmakers and actors, acknowledging, “I’m the least qualified man here tonight.”

Turning more serious, Biden delivered a speech that advocated for sexual assault survivors.

“Despite significant progress over the last few year, too many women and men, on and off college campuses, are still victims of sexual abuse and tonight I am asking you to join million of americans including me, President Obama, the thousands of students I’ve met on college campuses and the artists here tonight to take the pledge,” Biden said.

“A pledge that says – I will intervene in situations when consent has not or has not been given. Let’s change the culture. We must and we can change the culture. So that no abused woman or man, like the survivors you will se tonight, ever feel they ever have to ask themselves ‘what did i do?’ They did nothing wrong. I really mean this, take the pledge. Visit itsonus.org.”

Biden then introduced Gaga, who performed her Oscar nominated “Til It Happens To You.”

Biden took to Twitter after the ceremony to sing Gaga’s praises. “Proud to stand by my friend @LadyGaga tonight,” he tweeted. “Pure courage that inspires, challenges us all. #ItsOnUs. All of us.”

In one of the more shocking results from the 2016 Oscars, Gaga and Diane Warren‘s “Til It Happens to You” lost out to James Bond theme “Writing’s on the Wall” written by Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes.