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June 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. Department was “instrumental” in getting controversial pop star Lady Gaga to perform at the 2011 Europride gay pride event in Rome, boasted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week.

Speaking at an event celebrating LGBT Pride Month at the State Department, Clinton said of the U.S. embassy in Rome: “Two weeks ago they played an instrumental role in bringing Lady Gaga to Italy for a Euro Pride concert.

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“Now as many of you know Lady Gaga is Italian American and a strong supporter of LGBT rights,” continued Clinton. “And the organizers of the Euro Pride event desperately wanted her to perform and a letter to her from Ambassador Thorne was instrumental in sealing the deal.”

Lady Gaga, who calls herself bisexual, is best known for her outlandish costumes, raunchy performances and music videos, gay advocacy, and explicit anti-Christianity.

Earlier this year she riled Christians and captured headlines with her song “Judas,” in which she portrays herself as a Mary Magdalene figure who falls in love with and has sex with Judas.

On June 11, Lady Gaga performed at the Circus Maximus in Rome, in conjunction with a gay pride parade.

This isn’t the first time that U.S. Democrats have reached out to the pop star. In September of last year, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a Twitter message to Lady Gaga a few days before the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

“@ladygaga, there is a vote on #DADT next week. Anyone qualified to serve this country should be allowed to do so,” Tweeted Reid.

The announcement of the State Department’s involvement in securing Lady Gaga’s performance in Rome earned ridicule from former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton.

Speaking on The Steve Malzberg show on the WOR Radio Network, Bolton said the Gaga affair revealed how “irrelevant” Clinton’s office has become.

“This has nothing to do with your view on gay marriage or anything on that broad issue,” he said. “The fact that you never see the Secretary of State at the center of deliberations on national security issues, she’s kind of like an afterthought at the White House … It’s probably the explanation why not having much else to do she turns to this. The Secretary is nearly irrelevant on the key issues that face us on national security.”