49 actors, directors and entertainment industry leaders are
featured in a newly released video Wednesday which honors the 49 victims of the
Orlando mass shooting at Pulse nightclub.
The moving tribute, filmed over the course of three days at FOX Studios in Los
Angeles, consists of short detailed vignettes recounted by leading performers
and entertainment leaders to tell the individual stories of all 49 victims.
The 18 minute video was created and filmed by Emmy Award-winning
Ryan Murphy and Ned Martel — both writers and producers known for
“American Horror Story” and “Glee,” and includes actors who
were featured in their hit TV projects.
The first few seconds of the video are silent and feature only text as a reminder that the tragedy was also the nation’s deadliest mass shooting to date. After these moments of silence Lady Gaga, who won a 2016 Golden Globe award for her role in “American Horror Story,” opens the eloquent yet somber video with the story of one of the victims, Jean Carlos Nieves Rodriguez. His story (along with the other 48 victims) is told in exquisite detail, including personal and professional achievements, nicknames, personal quotes and memories of lives rich with family and friends.
The video made its debut on the website for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, who released the special tribute and also hosts the video on their official YouTube page.
HRC President Chad Griffin also released a statement announcing
the new video in which he calls the shooting victims “heroes” and
expresses gratitude for the efforts of Murphy and Martel for bringing to light
the “lasting” video tribute which honors the lives lost on June
12.
“The 49 heroes who lost their lives on June 12 were
brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors, boyfriends and
girlfriends, husbands and wives. They were mostly young and mostly
Latinx [a gender-inclusive term to refer to people of Latin American
descent]. But above all, they were human beings who were loved, and who
had hopes and dreams for long, full lives,” said HRC President Chad
Griffin.
“It has been only a few short weeks since we lost 49
people to a deadly act of hatred. It is our responsibility to keep their
memories alive and honor their legacies by ensuring our nation acts to end
anti-LGBTQ hate and gun violence,'” Griffin concluded.
In the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy Murphy asked how he
could help drive awareness about the dual epidemics of anti-LGBTQ hate violence
and gun violence that, together, claimed so many lives at Pulse nightclub. The
result was this moving tribute.
“The hate that stole these 49 individuals from all those who loved them
has been allowed to flourish in our country for too long,” said Ryan
Murphy, Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, director and producer. “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. I am proud to have joined with Ned Martel, my talented
colleagues, and the Human Rights Campaign to honor these 49 heroes and stop the
hate,” Murphy concluded.
Viewers of the video are asked by HRC to visit their new microsite Stop The
Hate and take action to support the victims’ families and survivors through Heal
Orlando, as well as contacting legislators to
“demand passage of LGBTQ protections and common-sense gun violence
prevention measure.”
Immediately after the Orlando tragedy, the HRC also
installed enormous images of all 49 victims of in the front windows of its
building in Washington, D.C., creating an 8-story composite image that features
the message, “We Are Orlando.”
Wednesday’s video tribute — featured on HRC’s Stop the Hate
microsite — is said to serve as a lasting, living memorial to remember the victims of
the attack. The new site, according to a statement published by HRC, will also
be home to news and resources about stemming the tide of hate violence against
the LGBTQ community.
The individual stories of the 49 victims in the video are told
by (in order of appearance):
Lady Gaga, Chris Pine, Cuba Gooding Jr., Connie Britton, Matt Bomer, Sarah
Paulson, Angela Bassett, Lea Michele, Colton Haynes, Sophia Bush, Jane Fonda,
Harry Shum Jr., Denis O’Hare, Rob Reiner, Melissa Benoist, Caitlyn Jenner,
Edgar Ramirez, Max Greenfield, Chaz Bono, Cheyenne Jackson, Emma Roberts, Kerry
Washington, George Lopez, Evan Rachel Wood, Sofía Vergara, Diego Boneta, Nina
Jacobson, Demi Lovato, Tyler Oakley, Yeardley Smith, Kid Cudi, Kaitlin Olson,
Kevin McHale, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lee Daniels, Chace Crawford, Evan Peters,
Gerard Butler, Katey Sagal, John Stamos, Laverne Cox, Jordana Brewster, Wes
Bentley, Finn Wittrock, Darren Criss, Kathy Bates, Anna Paquin, Guillermo Díaz
and Joe Mantello.
— Kim Martin
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