In a new video, celebrities from Lady Gaga to Demi Lovato came together to remember the 49 victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando. The 18-minute video shows each of the victims faces, while one of the 49 celebrities says their name and narrates their story.
Variety reports the Human Rights Campaign video was released on Tuesday as a way to honor each of the individual victims from the attack. The director, Ryan Murphy, said the video is a stand against the hate that caused Omar Mateen to enter an LGBTQ nightclub on Latinx night and murder 49 innocent people.
“The hate that stole these 49 individuals from all those who loved them has been allowed to flourish in our country for too long,” Murphy said in a statement, according to Variety. “No person is born hating another, and we have an obligation as Americans to stand up against prejudice and bigotry that would incite violence against someone simply for who they are.”
It’s important to remember who these victims were because Omar's attack does not seem to be a random one. Many reports indicate he wanted to kill LGBTQ and Latino people, making the shooting a very targeted one against those communities. Most of the victims of the attack were LGBTQ or Latino.
HRC president Chad Griffin pointed out in a statement that it’s also important to remember the victims’ stories, because above all, they were people with goals and ambitions and love. It’s critical that we don’t think of these people only as victims, but as individuals whose promising futures were cut short.
Some of the celebrities who read the names include Lady Gaga, Chris Pine, Connie Britton, Lea Michele, Colton Haynes, Caitlyn Jenner, Chaz Bono, Emma Roberts, Kerry Washington, Demi Lovato, Tyler Oakley, Laverne Cox and many more.
The names of the 49 victims are Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez, 27; Stanley Almodovar III, 23; Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32; Luis Daniel Conde, 39; Juan Pablo Rivera Velazquez, 37; Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40; Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33; Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37; Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35; Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21; Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49; Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24; Franky Jimmy De Jesús Velazquez, 50; Juan Chavez-Martinez, 25; Jerald Arthur Wright, 31; Antonio Davon Brown, 29; Miguel Angel Honorato, 30; Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25; ‘K.J.’ Morris, 37; Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34; Frankie Hernandez, 27; Akyra Monet Murray, 18; Joel Rayon Paniagua, 31; Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24; Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24; Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25; Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25; Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26; Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22; Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33; Paul Terrell Henry, 41; Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35; Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25; Amanda Alvear, 25; Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30; Angel Luis Candelario-Padro, 28; Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31; Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26; Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19; Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25; Enrique L. Rios Jr., 25; Darryl Roman Burt II, 29; Cory James Connell, 21; Martin Benitez Torres, 33; Luis S. Vielma, 22; Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20; Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36; Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22; and Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32.
Related: The Orlando Shooting Is Proof That American Culture Fuels Homophobia
