During her April 9th concert in Miami, the queen of pop, Madonna, honored the victims and survivors of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting.
On June 12, 2016, Latin Night at an Orlando gay club turned into the deadliest massacre against the LGBTQ+ community. Gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub. The shooting was especially impactful for the queer Latine community with 90 percent of the victims being of Latine descent. Half of the victims were Puerto Ricans, four Dominicans, and three Mexican citizens, among those who were killed. There were also 53 people that were wounded during the shooting. Mateen was later killed in a shootout with police that night.
Throughout her career, Madonna has advocated for the LGBTQ+ community. And for the final night of her Celebration Tour in Miami, she took a moment to honor the victims and survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Madonna also reminded people that this was one of the deadliest massacres on U.S. soil.
“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.” The deadliest modern mass shooting in the U.S. was at the Las Vegas festival in 2017. That shooting killed 60 people and injured more than 850. But for the LGBTQ+ community, it is the deadliest mass shooting.
During her emotional speech, Madonna revealed that she invited survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting, as well as the families of those who were murdered, to her concert. She was in tears as she called out the names of some of those people in attendance.
“I will always stand for the gays, because the gays have always stood for me,” she said. “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.”
Earlier this week, Madonna brought out Ricky Martin as a special guest during her second night in Miami. She will wrap up the tour on May 4 with a free concert in Brazil.