Lady Gaga Channels Marilyn Monroe at Clinton’s Hollywood Birthday Bash
ByThe entertainment community still adores former President Bill Clinton.
Hollywood showed him some love in series of events that recently took place to raise money for Clinton’s foundation and to celebrate his birthday. Festive functions included a Friday birthday gala at the Palladium, a Saturday night concert at the Hollywood Bowl, and a Sunday brunch and golf tournament.
Hollywood celebrities who were at various times on hand to greet the former president included Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeremy Piven, Laura Ling, Maria Shriver, Maria Bello, Jason Segel, Ron Meyer, Steve Bing, Lawrence Bender, Barbra Streisand, and James Brolin.
Saturday’s concert was billed as “A Decade of Difference,” a reference to the Clinton foundation’s ten years of work. Stevie Wonder treated the crowd to a surprise performance. Other entertainers who graced the stage included Kenny Chesney, Usher, The Edge, and Bono.
Lady Gaga used the occasion of Clinton’s 65th birthday to act out her version of the classic performance by Marilyn Monroe, in which the legendary star serenaded President John F. Kennedy. It was a pop culture contrast, warping together two starkly different time periods.
Clinton was sitting in the front row, along with his secretary of state spouse Hillary and his daughter Chelsea.
“Bill, I’m having my first real Marilyn Monroe moment,” Gaga said after having finished singing her version of “Happy Birthday” to the ex-prez.
“I always wanted to have one. And I was hoping that it didn’t involve an accident with some pills and a strand of pearls, so here we are,” Gaga added.
While engaged in her performance, Gaga behaved in a manner that went beyond Monroe’s sultry singing and mildly suggestive body language. The pop phenom removed articles of clothing in a striptease of sorts, so that by the performance’s end she was wearing only a flesh colored body suit.
When she introduced her tune, “Bad Romance,” Gaga said, “So tonight, I just thought we’d all get caught up in a little ‘Bill Romance.’”
As she writhed around in front of the former first family, she exclaimed, “It’s a good thing I used to dance on bars, right?”
For no apparent artistic reason, she threw in the F-word and gestured with her middle finger while talking between tunes. Facing the 42nd president, Gaga said, “If someone had told me so many years ago that I’d be doing that right in front of you I just would not believe them. I would have given a good American f–k you.”
Bill later quipped, “I got nervous when Gaga said she was planning to have a Marilyn moment. I thought, my God, I get Lady Gaga and I will have a heart attack celebrating my 65th birthday.”
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