Actor Matthew McConaughey took to the stage in the White House briefing room Tuesday to implore politicians to enact stricter gun laws after 19 children and two teachers were killed in his hometown of Uvalde during a mass shooting at an elementary school on May 24.
The Oscar-winner graphically described the trauma inflicted on the bodies of the gunned-down children, urging a bipartisan push to institute stronger background checks, waiting periods, and red flag laws. He also advocated for raising the minimum age to purchase AR-15 rifles.
But McConaughey wasn’t the only celebrity to speak out following the shooting in Uvalde. From June 3-5, a number of celebrities — Kevin Bacon, Amy Schumer and Jimmy Kimmel, to name a few — took part in Wear Orange, a campaign led by the organization Everytown for Gun Safety to raise awareness of gun violence.
Some A-listers found other ways to use their public platform to mourn those lost in Uvalde or voice their support for gun control.
Harry Styles
A few days after the shooting, the British pop star shared on Instagram that he would be collaborating with Everytown for Gun Safety, “donating to support their efforts, and sharing their suggested action items” on his upcoming North American tour. He also included a statistic published by Everytown that firearms are the leading cause of death in America for children and teens, as well as a number to text to sign up for alerts from the organization. The post was captioned simply, “End gun violence.”
Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez, a native of Grand Prairie, Texas, sent out two tweets on the day of the Uvalde shooting to her 65.9 million followers. “If children aren’t safe at school where are they safe?” Gomez asked, declaring that “those in power need to stop giving lip service and actually change the laws to prevent these shootings in the future.” The musician, actor and activist also shared a link to the website for Everytown, noting that “It’s so frustrating and I’m not sure what to say anymore.”
Steve Kerr
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr went on the offensive hours after the Uvalde shooting during a pregame press conference in Dallas. Before his team went up against the Dallas Mavericks, Kerr criticized senators who he said “refuse to do anything about the violence,” specifically calling out Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He pointed to H.R. 8, a bill that would require background checks for all gun sales, which has sat in the Senate since the House passed it in March 2021. “There’s a reason they won’t vote on it,” Kerr said. “To hold on to power.”
Following Kerr’s impassioned address, several athletes came out in support of his message, including Warriors player Steph Curry and the Dallas Mavericks’ Damion Lee.
Amanda Gorman
The inaugural National Youth Poet Laureate, who made waves after she recited her poem “The Hill We Climb” at President Joe Biden’s inauguration last year, penned a piece of verse for the New York Times following the Uvalde shooting. The five-stanza poem was named “Hymn for the Hurting”: “May our signed right to bear arms/ Never blind our sight from shared harm;/ May we choose our children over chaos./ May another innocent never be lost.”
The poem was published after the 24-year-old activist implored her social media followers to support and donate to Everytown.
Meghan Markle
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, traveled to Uvalde on May 26 to pay her respects to the victims of the shooting. During her surprise appearance, Markle left a bouquet of white flowers at a memorial constructed for the victims. The 40-year-old Duchess, wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, also spent some time looking around the memorial — located outside the Uvalde County Courthouse — which contained white crosses marked with the names of the victims.
Markle made no public comments at the memorial or after her visit, and made no statements regarding gun policy. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess told Bazaar.com that Markle went to Uvalde “in a personal capacity as a mother, to offer her condolences and support in person to a community experiencing unimaginable grief.”
———
