Kelly Clarkson refused to hold a “moment of silence” for the Texas school shooting victims at the Billboard Music Awards
During the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, host Kelly Clarkson opened up the show by addressing the Texas school shooting that claimed the lives of 10 innocent people on Friday, May 18th. The singer revealed that she was asked to include a moment of silence for the victims of Sante Fe High School, but instead, she delivered a powerful message about taking action rather than staying silent. Fighting back tears, the mom urged the audience and the world to do more to prevent deadly shootings from happening.
“They wanted me to do a moment of silence. I’m so sick of moments of silence,” Clarkson said in her opening. “It’s not working. Like, obviously. So why don’t we not do a moment of silence? Why don’t we do a moment of action, why don’t we do a moment of change? Why don’t we change what’s happening? Because it’s horrible.”
Clarkson, who was born and raised in Texas, could barely get the words out without her voice breaking. But she made sure her message was heard loud and clear. Change must be made, or else the disturbing trend of gun violence in the United States will continue.
"Mamas and daddies should be able to send their kids to school, to church, to movie theaters, to clubs — you should be able to life your life without that kind of fear," she continued. "We need to do better! These people are failing our children, we’re failing our communities we’re failing their families — I have four children, and I can’t imagine getting that phone call or that knock on the door. So instead of a moment of silence, I want to respect them and honor them. So let’s have a moment of action — a moment of change."
Watch Clarkson’s BBMAs speech below.
Our hearts go out to all the victims in the Santa Fe community and their families. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/7ejLAd8nKk
— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 21, 2018
We applaud Clarkson for using her platform to take a stand, and our hearts go out to each and every person affected by gun violence. It’s time for change.
