Russell Simmons Writes Letter To Lady Gaga About Her Love of Fur

After Lady Gaga made her love for all-things-fur (Kim Kardashian co-sign included) public, she wrote a detailed letter to her little monsters on her social network.

The 'Born This Way' singer who's known for her outlandish 'fits including a meat ensemble and various animal print getups, defended that she was not a vegan but a fur enthusiast who "always stayed away from skinned fur."

Through the onslaught of backlash from fans, animal activists and even pop starKe$ha, media mogul Russell Simmons is also sharing his thoughts on the matter in a love letter to the mega star on his site:

Dear Mother Monster,

You will go down in history as one of the most talented and beloved artists the world has ever known. You are an integral part of the artistic community that gives a voice to our pain, joy, struggles and triumphs through your music.

This is the same community that has historically been on the side of right since the beginning of time - bringing people together via the language of song. Poets always spoke the truth in song, whether it was via the innocent spirituals, as the slave songs came to be known, the protest songs of the beatnik generation who pushed for the end of the war, the legendary peace anthem of John Lennon's "Imagine," or the poetry of Tupac Shakur that gave a voice to the violent hardships that exist for every angry child growing up in inner cities. The poets who make music about social change set the tone and direction for our society because they are able to express the god that is within themselves.

When you look inside, you see "god" or the connective tissue that bonds you to all living beings and to life itself. The artist knows what the yogis and other leading spiritual beings have said throughout history: that we (all living beings) are ONE. If god were the ocean, we would be cups of god.

While I will not judge each individual's unconscious action, I will speak to the collective. The ripping off of skin of other sentient beings while they are still alive - during a time when we have options available to us to wear cruelty-free alternatives - is an issue I have to lend my voice to. Wearing these skins is abusive to animals, but equally as abusive to ourselves, as we are the animal that we abuse. As a vegan, I believe the greatest karmic disaster in the history of humankind is the 40 billion animals made to be born into suffering each year. Fur-bearing animals suffer the same fate for vanity and greed...

Read the full letter at Global Grind.