Lady Gaga has never been shy about her adoring loyalty to her fans, whom she calls her “little monsters.” And despite her off-the-wall getups and sometimes provocative lyrics, she wants to make sure she’s still someone they can look up to I find it so important now to be a role model and a figure. And I know that may sound strange to some people, but most important is my connection with my fans and the connection that they breed with one another,” she told reporters at the Viva Glam charity launch in London on Monday. She’s a spokesperson for the MAC AIDS Fund’s campaign, which donates 100 percent of its proceeds from the sale of lipstick and lip gloss to the global fight against AIDS and HIV.

Gaga is currently in the U.K. for her epic Monster Ball Tour, to which she recently added more dates, and she compared playing shows there to her native New York City. “London is not always an easy crowd, and I remember because I used to open for so many people here. I always found solace when I went to the gay clubs because they were always wild and dancing, and they really loved and enjoyed me.

“But the O2 was something I’ve never experienced before,” she added about her stop in London. “Everybody was dancing and screaming and on their feet the whole show. It was really remarkable. I look out into the audience and I hear them singing my music and supporting me and I want to do everything I can to protect them because some of them are really troubled and insecure.”