Music

Lady Gaga takes over late-night TV to spread the word about coronavirus concert special

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Published on April 7, 2020 08:56AM EDT

All Lady Gaga wanted was love... and for you to know about this coronavirus benefit concert event she's putting on.

In August 2019, Will Ferrell, assuming the role of Anchorman's Ron Burgundy, appeared on just about every major late-night TV show to bring some stand-up comedy and promote his Ron Burgundy podcast. This week, Ms. Gaga took over Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Stephen Colbert's The Late Show to spread the word about One World: Together at Home, the star-studded broadcast special to raise money for the World Health Organization.

The event is hosted by Fallon, Kimmel, and Colbert, hence Gaga popping up via video chat on all of their programs.

"This is not just a historical moment in the history of humanity, but there's a cultural moment that's occurring as well, and it's a kind one," the pop star told Fallon, before calling up Apple CEO Tim Cook on FaceTime to confirm his company's donation. After all, Gaga shot her entire "Stupid Love" music video using an iPhone. Apple has a lot of incentive to return the favor for all that publicity.

The Chromatica super star had a wardrobe change for every appearance. When she called in to interrupt Colbert's opening monologue, she swapped blazers and lost the black turtleneck (perhaps a nod to Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs for her Apple call with Cook). For Kimmel, she went Chromatica pink.

The One World event is meant to "celebrate the courage of the human spirit," she said. "That's what I really want to do. I want to show lots of acts of kindness and I also wanna show things that are happening in the world that maybe people don't know about in ways that we can feel grateful for what we have and we can give more to help other people."

Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Elton John, John Legend, Green Day, Chris Martin, the cast of Sesame Street, and many more will appear during the One World broadcast. But this is not a fundraiser, according to Gaga.

"It's not a telethon, it's not a fundraiser. So, when the show starts, put away your wallets and put away your credit cards," she said. "Just sit back and watch the show because we will have already raised money ahead of time. We're already at $35 million."

Gaga's multiple pop-ins was named Best Bite of the Night by EW's Last Night's Late Night series, which runs down the biggest moments from late-night TV every morning on Quibi. Host Heather Gardner commended Gaga for "charming all the late-night fellas with her humor and her heart."

One World will be broadcast across ABC, NBC, and ViacomCBS Networks — the respective TV networks of Kimmel, Fallon, and Colbert — as well as iHeart Media in the United States, Canada's Bell Media networks, and the U.K.'s BBC One on Sunday. Things will kick off on Saturday, April 18 starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT/Midnight GMT.

For the latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19), including how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you are sick, please visit coronavirus.gov.

Watch EW's new daily series, Last Night's Late Night, every morning on Quibi.

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