Lady Gaga to march in Rome's gay pride parade

Lady Gaga, wearing the infamous meat dress at the MTV Video Music Awards.

/ MTV

(CBS/AP) Lady Gaga will be among the celebrities taking part in a gay pride parade Saturday in Rome's Circus Maximus to mark the close of 2011 Euro Pride.

U.S. Ambassador to Italy David Thorne said in a statement Monday he is "very proud to have an Italian-American artist of her stature'' come to the Italian capital. He quoted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as saying "human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights.''

Pictures: Lady Gaga

The pop star was invited by Thorne and the local organizers of Euro Pride, which takes place each year in a different European city

The 25-year-old singer has been a vocal advocate of gay rights, speaking out against the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy in the U.S. military.

Ranked as this year's most powerful celebrity by Forbes magazine, Lady Gaga just released a new album, "Born This Way," which sold a million copies in its first week.

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Lady Gaga

[bracciano2]

Michelangelo was gay. I have not heard of anyone who would suggest we whitewash his Sistine Chapel frescoes because of his sexual orientation.

But perhaps there are some deranged individuals who would suggest such a detestable act. Perhaps these were the same type of individuals who would crucify a spiritual leader who teaches love and tolerance of our brothers and sisters.

[thesevenveils]

Robo-Gag-a

[robert_holt]

I personally feel that as a rule of thumb, entertainers should not get political. Their fans turn to them for entertainment, not to hear their personal views. Entertainers only hurt their careers by expressing their personal views because no matter what they say, a lot of their fans will disagree and that will hurt their following. Yes, there is some lee-way in this area but generally I would suggest that entertainers just zip it. Lady Ga Ga's fans are interested in her performance, not her personal position on this or that. Even though she is unorthodox, I think she is making a mistake by getting embroiled in controversy. Her star has risen quickly but if she is not careful, it will fall even faster.