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.”