"It's on us": Obama delivers a message about domestic violence during the Grammys

The president delivered a pre-recorded speech on abuse before Katy Perry and Brooke Axtell's moving performance

By Erin Keane

Chief Content Officer

Published February 9, 2015 3:17AM (EST)

       (WhiteHouse.gov)
(WhiteHouse.gov)

President Obama appeared via video during the Grammy Awards telecast to call on musicians and their fans to work together to stop domestic violence. "More than one in four women has experienced some form of domestic violence," said Obama. "It's not okay. It has to stop."

Obama also urged the musicians gathered at the awards to sign an online pledge at ItsOnUs.org and to encourage their fans to join in.

The president delivered his speech as a lead-in to Katy Perry's performance of her ballad "By the Grace of God," which also featured a spoken word performance by activist Brooke Axtell (read the Salon interview).


By Erin Keane

Erin Keane is Salon's Chief Content Officer. She is also on faculty at the Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University and her memoir in essays, "Runaway: Notes on the Myths That Made Me," was named one of NPR's Books We Loved In 2022.

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2015 Grammys Barack Obama Grammy Awards Katy Perry Video