Entertainment events — including the airing of TV shows — have been postponed or canceled out of respect for the victims of Tuesday’s school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a teenage gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School and killed 19 children and two adults in a single classroom.
The fatal tragedy spurred sweeping political statements from the White House down to local governments and calls for stronger gun control in the United States, whose number of mass shootings continues to climb at a shocking rate.
The entertainment and sports industries have also been grappling with the shooting.
On Tuesday, CBS announced it was pulling the Season 4 finale of its crime show “FBI.” Titled “Prodigal Son,” the episode involved a suspected student’s participation in a deadly robbery. It’s unclear whether the episode will air in the future.
The red carpet premiere for Season 2 of Apple TV+'s “Physical,” starring Rose Byrne, was also scaled down to a private event Tuesday.
“Out of respect for today’s tragedy in Texas, tonight’s screening of Physical season two will be a private event with no press,” read a statement from the series’ cast and creative team (via Variety). “We thank you for wanting to be there with us, and know that you join with us in our heartfelt support for all of the families affected by today’s event.”
The launch of rapper Ye’s Yeezy Gap collaboration with luxury fashion house Balenciaga was also postponed Wednesday morning to a later date.
“In light of the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, we are postponing the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga launch until Friday, May 27,” the company said on its website, yeezygap.com. “As we pause, our hearts go out to the families and communities impacted.”
The collection partnered the rapper formerly known as Kanye West with Balenciaga’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia. Products from the collection were set to launch on the site, as well as on Balenciaga’s online partners farfetch.com, mytheresa.com and luisaviaroma.com.
Uvalde is the hometown of Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey, who said that “action must be taken” in an emotional statement he released Tuesday.
“We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo,” McConaughey said. “As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it’s time we re-evaluate, and negotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children’s issue.”
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