While Madonna‘s globe-spanning tour is meant to be a “Celebration,” the singer took a moment on Tuesday night (April 9) to have a serious conversation with her fans about one of the worst shootings in American history.
During her final show in Miami, Fla., Madonna delivered an emotional speech to her fans in honor of the victims of the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub, the second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. “I want to remind you that we have not all been so lucky,” Madonna said somberly to her audience, according to a fan-captured video. “I want to draw attention to that moment because nightclubs and music and dance are what bring us together. They shouldn’t be places or things that we do that bring us sadness and tragedy and murder and death and pain and suffering and trauma.”
Along with paying tribute to the 49 people killed in the attack, the legendary pop star also shared her support for the LGBTQ+ community, saying, “I will always stand for the gays, because the gays have always stood for me.”
“That was the biggest terrorist attack in America after 9/11,” she said. “People getting together to dance in a club that was inclusive and full of love. It was Latin Night, people were dancing to Latin music, and some motherf–ker came in there with two guns and started shooting at people.”
Madonna went on to share that she invited survivors and their families, as well as the families of those who did not survive to attend her show that night, calling out a few of their names and thanking them for attending. In the middle of her speech, her voice began to crack with emotion. “I make dance music. My job is to bring people together, to make people dance, to make people happy, to not judge,” she said. “This s–t is not supposed to happen. Don’t forget about it.”
It’s far from the first time Madonna has honored victims and heroes during her Celebration Tour. When her trek stopped at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in January, the pop icon shared the stories of Ellen Matzer and Valery Hughes, two New York nurses who treated and advocated for AIDS/HIV patients at the height of the epidemic the 1980s.
Watch the fan-captured video of Madonna’s speech below:
