In her bare-bones black T and shorts, Lady Gaga outshone all the sequins and glitter in the room. Oscars 2023

The Oscars seem the last place to ever find authenticity, but there it was on view at Sunday Night’s Academy awards.

At a time when we are awash with alternative facts and lies, in a place like Hollywood, notorious for its homage to fake beauty, the honesty expressed last night was refreshing.

There was Jamie Lee Curtis proudly wearing her well-earned wrinkles as beautifully as she wore her pink-champagne gown, accepting her well-earned Oscar.

And when Michelle Yeoh the first Asian woman to be recognized as best actress, said “Ladies, don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are past your prime,” millions of women screamed in solidarity in their own living rooms.

But it was the rawness of a stripped-down Lady Gaga performing that left me speechless.

Ditching her earlier red carpet look of bright red lips and sheer corseted Versace gown fresh from the runway, she appeared on stage to sing the “Top Gun: Maverick” track Hold My Hand, wearing simply a black T-Shirt, ripped shorts, and sneakers.

Lady Gaga ditched her red carpet Versace gown straight off the runway and scrubbed her highly made-up face to sing in the raw.

Her face scrubbed of make-up, her hair twisted into a French braid updo, allowed her raw, expressive face and powerful voice to take center stage. All the glitz and glamour suddenly seemed so meaningless.

A strong woman pared down to the essentials with no artifice, she was the anti-Madonna of the Grammys.

Unencumbered by glamor she got back to the basics.

And she was gorgeous.

It was so glorious, I went ga-ga.