Lady Gaga speaks at Gay Pride Rally: 'We are not a niche. We are a part, a big giant part of humanity'

Not even hip surgery could keep Lady Gaga away from performing at New York's Gay Pride Parade Kick Off Rally.In her first public appearance since she was forced to cancel her tour due to injury, the "Born This Way" singer, 27, joined throngs of fans to celebrate the start of pride weekend.

The diva, known for her vocal support of the LGBT community, gave a stirring speech about how much the
support of her gay fans has meant to her.
"When I was in high school and grade school and younger, I was considered to be an outcast and I just couldn't find my place," she said. "Where did I fit in? And I look back on that time and I remember feeling that I was cut from a different mold. "

"There was a particular crowd who did accept me," she continued. "There was a particular crowd who made room for me at their table, who held me up when I felt I couldn't, who loved me for exactly who I was. It was you. "
"You saved me, my friends in the LGBT community, time and time again. And I saw God for the first real time in all of you."

The New York native, born Stefani Germanotta, praised the last week's Supreme Court ruling overturning the Defense of Marriage Act and slammed recent homophobia-spurred attacks in the city.
"The violence that has taken place towards LGBTs in the past months is unacceptable here and anywhere," the singer announced.

"We are not a niche. We are a part, a big giant part of humanity," Gaga said. "It's time for us to be mainstream. I demand the rights! To safe streets!"
Gaga closed her appearance with a version of "The Star-Spangled Banner," substituting a lyric to commemorate  the occasion: "Oh say does that star-spangled flag of pride yet wave.”