Lady Gaga’s Inauguration Day performance no doubt moved many to tears, as her heartfelt rendition of the American National Anthem was broadcast across the world.
Dressed dramatically in a custom Schiaparelli red gown with a black long-sleeved sweater, black leather gloves and a giant gold brooch, she turned heads as soon as she descended the stairs for her performance.
With the floor-length dress perhaps making mobility down the steps a little difficult, she was escorted by Marine Corps Capt. Evan Campbell. Now he has opened up about how he came to be selected for this prestigious Inauguration Day role and how he found the global star to be ‘incredibly genuine’.
Speaking to Task & Purpose, he revealed: “There was a concern — obviously she was wearing this very beautiful, very large dress, and there was a concern that she might need some help getting down the stairs”.
“So they basically looked around and I was one of the taller, larger individuals, and they just asked if I would be willing to assist and I was more than happy to,” he continued.
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Campbell reportedly didn’t tell anyone about his special Inauguration Day role, as he “wanted to make sure that [he] didn’t screw it up before [he] went hyping it.”
How did Marine Corps Capt. Evan Campbell help Lady Gaga?
When it came to meeting the A Star is Born actor and singer, he disclosed that it was only around 15 minutes before they were scheduled to walk down the stairs that this took place. He described her as “very nice and gracious with everyone” and aside from escorting her down the stairs, it seemed he may have also helped her in another small way.
When waiting for the moment to descend the stairs, he thought she was beginning to look a little nervous. Campbell said: “It just seemed like a very natural human thing to do to look over and go, ‘Hey you’re going to do great. You always do well, you know, you’re a performer, you’re going to do great. It just seemed like she needed to hear a relaxed voice.”
He went on to explain how they spoke a little more, with Lady Gaga asking how long he had been in the Marine Corps and her revealing to him this would be “the most important day of her life” singing the national anthem at the Inauguration.
Describing her as “incredibly genuine", he reportedly disclosed that she joked at one point that they both had an equal chance of tripping over her glamorous dress.
However, perhaps the biggest thing for Campbell, who deployed to Iraq in 2016 and to Syria from 2017 to 2018, was the way that the Marine Corps was represented.
“The biggest thing for me is when those memes came out — you know, find someone that looks at you the way she looks at a United States Marines — I took a lot of pride in that,” he said.
“I think at the end of the day, we all want to do something that represents the Marine Corps well … people were sending me posts from Vogue Paris, Cosmo, I mean millions of people have now seen a United States Marine with Lady Gaga, so I’m just glad I did the Marine Corps proud on this one,” he declared.
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