Lady Gaga and Joe Biden team up for sex assault rally

Lady Gaga is reuniting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to raise awareness about sexual assault at a rally in Las Vegas.

The unlikely duo initially joined forces at the Oscars in February (16), when Biden was invited to introduce Gaga's performance of Til It Happens to You, which features in The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sex attacks on U.S. college campuses.

The Vice President, the author of the Violence Against Women Act, used his appearance on Hollywood's biggest stage to draw attention to his It's On Us campaign, which calls on collective responsibility to bring an end to the epidemic of campus assaults.

Now the pop superstar, a rape survivor herself, will appear alongside Biden at the University of Nevada rally on 7 April (16) to further raise awareness about the cause.

In an interview with Billboard.com to promote the event, Biden heaped praise on Gaga's own efforts to help other sex assault victims go public with their own experiences.

"Lady Gaga is brave and sincere," he gushed. "She's a survivor who has the courage to speak out, and I know how difficult that can be. We've talked at length and I admire her courage. Everyone can see it because it's on display. She encourages so many other women to step forward."

The Poker Face singer, who revealed in 2014 she had been raped by an unnamed producer at the age of 19, underlined her message of strength and solidarity during her Oscars performance by inviting 50 other sexual abuse survivors, who had phrases like, "Not your fault", "Unbreakable", and "Survivor" scribbled on their forearms, to join her onstage. At the end of the emotional song, they all raised their arms in unison as the star-studded crowd gave the group a standing ovation.

Gaga previously opened up about the significance of her Oscar Best Song nomination, which she shared with co-writer Diane Warren.

"This nomination lends a voice to victims and survivors all over the world," she said after the shortlist was announced in January (16). "Thank you to the Academy for recognising the movement of people who have come together for this film and song in the name of sexual assault. Myself and Diane are simply honoured to represent the voice of so many survivors."

Gaga and Warren lost out on the Best Original Song Oscar to Sam Smith, who triumphed for his track Writing's on the Wall from James Bond movie Spectre.