Photo credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

Can you believe it’s been ten years since Lady Gaga released Born This Way?

To celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the iconic album, the city of West Hollywood in California has awarded the 35-year-old Grammy and Oscar-winning singer with its prestigious Key to the City, and also declared May 23 ‘Born This Way Day’.

West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath commended Lady Gaga and the album for all the ways in which it has inspired the LGBTQ community over the years…

“Thank you for encouraging us to love ourselves and be proud!” Mayor Lindsey P. Horvath told Lady Gaga as she presented her with the award.

“The anthem Born This Way has become an out-and-proud declarative stance for countless LGBTQ people.

“The Born This Way Foundation fosters honest conversations about mental health with young people and seeks to eradicate the stigma around mental health struggles.

“I’m overjoyed to declare today Born This Way Day and, on behalf of the entire City Council, give a Key to the City to Lady Gaga as we launch Pride this year in West Hollywood!”

The city also revealed a brand new street painting on Robertson Boulevard, which was emblazoned with the album’s title in the rainbow colors found on the LGBTQ Pride flag.

“You’ve been the motherf—ing key to my heart for a long time,” Lady Gaga told the crowd as she accepted her award.

“I’ll honor this and I’ll cherish this, and I promise that I’ll always be here for this day … to celebrate with you. To feel joy with you, to cry with you, to laugh with you.

“Because you know what we are? We’re poets and we’re just talking to each other.”

Lady Gaga also took to social media to share more details about the album, telling the world that the name of it was actually inspired by gay black religious activist, Carl Bean…

“Born This Way, my song and album, were inspired by Carl Bean, a gay black religious activist who preached, sung and wrote about being “Born This Way.” Notably his early work was in 1975, 11 years before I was born,” Lady Gaga wrote on Twitter.

“Thank you for decades of relentless love, bravery, and a reason to sing,” she continued.

“So we can all feel joy, because we deserve joy. Because we deserve the right to inspire tolerance, acceptance, and freedom for all.”

Congratulations Lady Gaga – we couldn’t think of a more worthy recipient!