After the immediate, visceral reaction to the mass-shooting at the Orlando gay bar Pulse, resulting in almost fifty deaths and over fifty injuries, the process of publicly grieving and dealing with the aftermath begins.
Earlier in the week, Nick Jonas spoke prominently at the Stonewall vigil for the victims of the Pulse massacre. Other celebrities like Titus Burgess from "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" were present at the vigil, while in Los Angeles, Lady Gaga honored the victims as well. Jonas received a lot of flack, with most people wondering if as a white, straight man, it was really his place to speak. Later on Andy Cohen’s Bravo show Watch What Happens Live, he said that Governor Cuomo had personally reached out to him and asked him to speak. Jonas agreed because he supported the cause and wanted to “lend [his] voice in any way [he could] and be a part of it in any way possible.”
While I’m certainly not pleased with Nick being given such a prominent role in the vigil, I find that I’m not necessarily angry. He is a prominent person, and his voice does add weight. I wish it would’ve been some of the LGBTQ+ community, like Janet Mock, a black transgender author and MSNBC personality, who is also a New Yorker. I wasn’t angry at Nick, but I just didn’t see why he was necessary.
However, at the end of the day, he still cared enough to be there, to stand in solidarity.
Scrolling through my Twitter feed, I noticed several prominent queer people I follow on Twitter—Sam Stryker of BuzzFeed, Sam Lanksy of TIME, Ryan O’Connell of Thought Catalog and the TV show Awkward—dragging Taylor Swift for not addressing the tragedy. They blasted her for a career that was built in part and supported by members of the LGBTQ+ community, but she could not take the time to support the community that had so long supported her.
Looking into it more deeply, I found more celebrities who have not acknowledged the tragedy. As of this writing, Macklemore—who literally performed his song “Same Love” to a group of queer people getting married—has not Tweeted about the shooting. Similarly, at this time, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Drake and Justin Bieber have not tweeted. Bieber tweeted that he would not cancel his Orlando show and the hashtag #OrlandoStrong, but when this is the same person who tweeted “Happy #FindingDory Day,” I feel like we should not just accept simple show logistics relating to a national tragedy. Nicki tweeted out her new song, but made no mention of Orlando.
As of this writing, Taylor has just put up an Instagram of the names of the victims and the caption “With a heavy heart…”. So, should we be grateful that these celebrities, if they have, have decided to acknowledge Orlando? After all, they don’t have any sort of concrete obligation to tweet about anything. However, almost every single one of these celebrities have tweeted about the Paris attacks last November. So when something can happen an ocean away and celebrities tweet about it, but the largest massacre in U.S. history occurs and not a word is said, I think that we have a right to be angry.
Prominent people have prominent platforms. To not utilize that platform to make substantial change and to not influence politicians and lawmakers into restricting the purchasing of assault weapons is not only disappointing, it’s dangerous. The LGBTQ+ community has largely supported each of these artists, and to not support them at this moment, to not join the nation in mourning, is incredibly insensitive. Maybe it’s unfair to judge celebrities by these standards, but when you have audiences of millions of people, no statement is a bad statement.
I refuse to accept less from the people in positions of high authority, whether that be politicians or celebrities. They, in their own ways, influence people and alter our nation. To not even acknowledge this tragedy is malignant to the core. Celebrities have influence. For them to take a minute of their time, to support the Orlando victims, could change a fan’s entire perspective on the queer community or on gun control. To deny the control they have over their fans is to deny the powerful impact they could have. If celebrities like Taylor or Nicki or Justin cared as much about creating positive social change as they did about promoting albums or sponsorships or brands, maybe more minds would be changed.
It’s a lot to expect but I refuse to expect less. We gave you your influence, now wield it for good.
