Lady Gaga to march in Rome's gay pride parade
(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.''
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.