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This Video of 49 Celebrities Reading the Names of the 49 Orlando Victims May Devastate You
Out producer Ryan Murphy produced the video that includes many LGBTQ celebrities, and also, allies reading the names of the victims and telling their stories.
It’s been more than two weeks since the horrific massacre of 49 people at the LGBTQ club Pulse on Latin Night in Orlando, Florida, but the pain, sorrow, and anger has just begun. Out producer Ryan Murphy assembled 49 celebrities, many from his series American Horror Story, The People vs. OJ Simpson, Scream Queens, and Glee, and many of whom are LGBTQ, to read the names and tell the stories of the 49 victims.
The affecting video flashes a picture of each victim with a voiceover of that person’s individual story before cutting to the famous lesbian, bisexual, gay, trans person, or ally telling it. The video takes its time giving voice to those people whose voices were senselessly stifled.
Before Lady Gaga reads the name of the first victim the screen flashes the following:
“On June 12, 2016, a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 others inside Pulse, an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on Latin Night. It was both the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman and the deadliest incident of violence against LGBTQ people in U.S. history.”
That sobering bit of news is followed with the words, “These are their names. These are their stories.”
Among the LGBTQ celebrities and allies helping to tell the stories are Lady Gaga, Matt Bomer, Cuba Gooding Jr. Sarah Paulson, Connie Britton, Angela Bassett, Lea Michele, Colton Haynes, Sophia Bush, Jane Fonda, Caitlyn Jenner, Chaz Bono, Cheyenne Jackson, Emma Roberts, Kerry Washington, Tyler Oakley, Laverne Cox, John Stamos, Kathy Bates, Anna Paquin.
But Murphy doesn’t stop with celebrities reading names. The video ends with two shocking facts.
“Since the massacre, Congress has voted down common-sense gun safety laws…four times,” flashes across the screen. “Meanwhile, more than 200 bills targeting the LGBTQ community have been introduced in states this year. It will take all of us to change that.”
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
Tracy E. Gilchrist is the VP, Executive Producer of Entertainment for the Advocate Channel. A media veteran, she writes about the intersections of LGBTQ+ equality and pop culture. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief of The Advocate and the first feminism editor for the 55-year-old brand. In 2017, she launched the company's first podcast, The Advocates. She is an experienced broadcast interviewer, panel moderator, and public speaker who has delivered her talk, "Pandora's Box to Pose: Game-changing Visibility in Film and TV," at universities throughout the country.
