Hillary Clinton, Stevie Wonder and
Lance Bass were among the celebrities who participated in a benefit
to raise funds for victims of a mass shooting in Orlando.
Forty-nine people died and dozens were
injured when a lone gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub, the Pulse.
The June 12 shooting is the deadliest on American soil.
Friday's benefit was held at NeueHouse
in Hollywood, California and hosted by the onePULSE Foundation.
“I choose hope,” out singer Lance
Bass told the crowd. “Let us choose hope tonight and every night.
Pulse was a place where you could dance freely and safely without the
fear of being judged.”
In a video message, Hillary Clinton,
the Democratic nominee for president, reiterated her support for
“commonsense” gun control.
“We can’t ever let hate and
violence break our spirit,” Clinton said. “Together we will
fight for the right of every American to live freely, openly, and
without fear no matter what you look like, where you come from, or
who you love. We will take commonsense steps to reduce gun violence
and do everything we can to make sure what happened in Orlando
doesn’t ever happen again. I’m proud to stand with the LGBTQ
community.”
Stevie Wonder and Jessie J gave special
performances.
“I believe that we all must come
together to put an end to this,” Wonder said after performing More
Than a Love Song. “Hate means more hate, but love plus love is
the key.”
Also in attendance were reality star
Caitlyn Jenner, out actor Matt Bomer, Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti, Pulse nightclub owner Barbara Poma and hip hop artist
will.i.am.
If you want to help, donations can be
made to the onePulse Foundation by texting “PULSE” to 91999.