As documented below, celebrities from all industries have issued statements of shock and sorrow on social media in light of Sunday night’s shooting in Las Vegas.
But we feel as though Ariana Grande deserves to be singled out for a moment.
Tragically, the young singer is all too familiar with the sort massacre that took place in Nevada over the weekend, as over 20 concert goers were killed in Manchester this spring toward the end of a Grande performance.
Clearly (and understandably) VERY shaken by that incident, the artist penned an open letter shortly after the terrorist act that reads as follows:
“I am sorry for the pain and fear that you must be feeling and for the trauma that you, too, must be experiencing.
“We will never be able to understand why events like this take place because it is not in our nature, which is why we shouldn’t recoil. We will not quit or operate in fear.
“We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.”
Sadly, Grande has now been forced to share a similar statement, after a 64-year old named Stephen Paddock opened fire in Las Vegas on fans at a country music festival.
At the latest count, Paddock killed 58 people and injured over 500 others.
After committing the deadliest mass shooting in American history, he then took his own life.
On Monday, Grande responded to this Las Vegas shooting with grief and with emotion, but also with a call for action.
“My heart is breaking for Las Vegas,” she tweeted. “We need love, unity, peace, gun control & for people to look at this & call this what it is = terrorism.”
Amen, right?
Grande’s manager Scooter Braun also penned a lengthy message to his followers, reflecting on the attack in Vegas while referencing his own memories from Manchester.
“I don’t really have words this morning. I am deeply saddened. And as horrifying as it is to say I can’t tell you I’m surprised,” he wrote, adding:
“Our greatest challenges are ahead of us. What took place in Las Vegas last night should never happen. What took place in Manchester should never happen. What took place in Charlottesville should never happen.
“But they are happening. And ALL of them are terrorist attacks.”
Concluded Braun:
They all strike fear in our ability to live our lives .They all make us question taking our children, our friends our loved ones to public events that are supposed to bring us joy…in fear of devastation.
They are all attacks on our way of life and our way of love. So first let me say my heart breaks for all those affected in Las Vegas. Nothing we do can bring back your loved ones and I am so sorry. For those in the hospital recovering we are with you. Keep fighting. And for all of us..who are we?
What will we choose to do in response? Will we just Instagram and move on? Will we think this is about a hashtag with the word #vegas in it? Or will we wait until the next one affects us? THIS One affects us. #LASVEGAS is ALL of us.
We owe them courage. We owe them our faith. We owe them our strength and out spirit to rise up and come together and demand not only better now but better Tomorrow.
When I was in Manchester I witnessed something defiant. At the end of the One Manchester show…only 2 weeks after the attack and less than 24 hours since the London attack…when the cameras were off…the crowd of 55,000 brave souls started to sing. The echoed the words ‘Manchester we’re strong, we’re strong, we’re strong.
We’ll keep singing our songs, our songs our songs.’ This repeated for 15 minutes as they exited. Defiance in the face of fear. Las Vegas we’re strong. We’re strong. We’re strong. We’ll keep singing our songs…Together.
This is an attack on your friends, your family, your kids, your way of life. So as we think about those lost and those hurt this morning …what do you and I owe them?
Powerful stuff.
We send our thoughts to all affected by this tragedy.