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Escorting Lady Gaga down the red carpet at Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards was none other than Katie Miller ’12, the West Point cadet who transferred to Yale College after announcing that she was gay.

Yes, that’s right: A Yalie. Holding Lady Gaga’s hand. On the red carpet. At the VMAs.

According to the Washington Post, Lady Gaga invited Miller and three other former members of the military, all of whom were discharged or resigned because of the federal “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, to accompany her on the red carpet at one of the entertainment industry’s biggest nights of the year.

While entering the awards show, Gaga explained to reporters the reasoning behind her unconventional guest list:

“I’m here for a very, very important cause tonight. These are all my friends and they are with SLDN.org, which is an organization that was founded in 1993 under the reaction to the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policies. Their stories are very inspiring and there’s so much we can do right now.”