Very tastefully, Saturday Night Live had Jason Aldean on to play a moving tribute to the Las Vegas shooting victims.
Now, his wife marked their somber return to Las Vegas with a powerful photograph.
Remember — Jason and Brittany aren’t just symbols of the shooting because so many victims were Jason’s fans. They themselves are survivors.
First, we have to talk about Brittany’s harrowing experience during the shooting itself.
This was doubly — actually, triple-y scary for Jason Aldean’s wife. She wasn’t just worried about herself or her husband or the crowd.
Brittany Aldean is pregnant, you guys.
In the aftermath of the terrorist shooting, Brittany posted about her experience to Instagram — and it’s clear that her pregnancy and her unborn child loomed heavily in her mind.
“When the gunfire started, I was not with Jason, but with some friends in a tent close to Mandalay.”
As if a shooting isn’t bad enough already — not being with your loved one but knowing that they’re out there is even worse.
“As you can imagine my first instinct was to run to him and his was the same.”
Of course it was!
“As we laid behind equipment onstage with some of our road family, bullets flying past… all I could think was ‘I never even got to hold my baby."”
A terrifying thought.
We get that she’s famous and so some people don’t want to feel sorry for her, but remember that everyone experiences terrorist attacks the same way. It’s a war zone.
“We all made sure the others knew we loved them and then ran for cover where we stayed for the next couple hours. (Not knowing if there were multiple shooters, where the bullets were coming from… NOTHING)”
Remember, we know a lot about the shooter now, but at the time they didn’t even know how many attackers there were.
“We were the lucky ones. I can’t put into words the pain and heartache we feel for the ones who are no longer with us.”
We all understand.
“Took me a while to be able to write these words… thank you to everyone who has reached out to Jason and I… Means the world to us.”
Some people never find the words. And that’s okay.
Now, Jason and Brittany have returned to Vegas and shared a photo that would almost seem innocuous if you didn’t know the context.
Brittany shared this caption:
“Feels surreal being back in Vegas today. Visiting some of the strongest people we have ever met… fighting the toughest battle of them all… for their lives.”
She thanks the fellow survivors in Vegas.
“You have helped us try to begin the healing process by seeing the strength each one of you have. Thank you for today. We will never forget. #vegasstrong”
That’s a moving message.
She kept it short, but that seems appropriate. She’s already shared her experiences. And we’re sure that she doesn’t want to talk over other survivors.
The couple’s response in general has been very encouraging.
Jason Aldean went onto SNL, as we mentioned, to perform Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
That surprise performance was powerful, emotional, and a very appropriate tribute to the victims — those who made it and those who didn’t.
It’s all part of the long, long healing process.
Quite frankly, though, until we know a lot more about the shooting and resolve some of the public’s unanswered questions, we don’t know how anyone can truly heal.
