Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo are among the music stars sharing their grief and anger Tuesday in the wake of another school shooting in the U.S. – this one taking the lives of at least 19 children at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.
“Filled with rage and grief, and so broken by the murders in Uvalde,” Swift tweeted. “By the ways in which we, as a nation, have become conditioned to unfathomable and unbearable heartbreak.”
The singer shared a video of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s emotional statement about the mass shooting. “Steve’s words ring so true and cut so deep.”
Rodrigo, on stage in Los Angeles, said she was “devastated” by the shooting. “We should never have to worry about our safety or our lives in places that are dedicated to our learning and growing,” she said. “I’m so heartbroken that this is the reality that we’re living in and we need stricter gun control laws.”
Selena Gomez tweeted: “Today in my home state of Texas [19] innocent students were killed while simply trying to get an education. A teacher killed doing her job; an invaluable yet sadly under appreciated job. If children aren’t safe at school where are they safe?
“It’s so frustrating and I’m not sure what to say anymore. Those in power need to stop giving lip service and actually change the laws to prevent these shootings in the future.”
Nick Jonas wrote: "Kids shouldn’t have to worry about gun violence. They especially shouldn’t have to worry about gun violence at school. Absolutely heartbreaking."
In a message she shared on Instagram, Madonna wondered how the shooter was able to act. "How is this possible that an 18 year old boy, who is a child himself, can purchase 2 automatic Rifles on his birthday with no background check, no safety training, no questions asked?????" she asked. "The shooter posted countless warnings on IG and facebook announcing his plans to shoot his grandmother and students in a school. No one noticed!! No one stopped him. How Is this possible?"
Madonna added there must be "no more words action only."
Canadian singer Deborah Cox shared: “It’s heartbreaking and makes me so angry that this is still happening … This needs to stop.”
FINNEAS opined: “Anyone saying ‘now isn’t the time to talk about gun control’ doesn’t care that kids got f**king murdered today.”
In a tweet, Maren Morris wrote: “[19] elementary children… a small classroom size. Imagine you walk down a hall & an entire class… GONE. I’ve already lost track of which shooting happened even a year ago. The victim’s families haven’t and never will.
“At this rate, this kind of violence only happens HERE.”
(While it's true that the U.S. by far leads the way in school shootings, they do occur in countries around the world.)
“ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Just last week a targeted mass shooting at a market in Buffalo and now a school shooting in Uvalde,” read a tweet from Becky G. “Communities should be safe in their grocery stores, our CHILDREN should be safe in class! This has to end. Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. We need change.”
Singer Chlöe wondered “when will this end??????? when will it stop??? how do we just keep letting this happen??”
A tweet from The Chainsmokers read: “Our hearts go out to those in texas at the Robb elementary school and everyone effected. Something has to change in this country. We are the only country where kids go to school and could wind up shot.”
Many of the reactions took aim at U.S. politicians for failing to enact strict gun control measures.
"F**k you @NRA F**k you, every elected official who’s voted against gun reform. F**k you @GregAbbott_TX and f**k you, every Republican voter who claims to be 'pro-life' but don’t actually give the slightest s**t about humans once their born. You are ignorant and complicit," fumed Richard Marx, in a tweet.
John Mellencamp tweeted: "We'd like to believe that we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, but we don't. We are can't find the collective courage to get rid of the politicians who sit on their bloody hands when it comes to gun control but at the same time call themselves 'pro life.'"
Rock veteran Peter Frampton tweeted: “26 years ago, a gunman entered Dunblane Primary School in Scotland, killing 16 kids and a teacher. The UK govt responded by enacting tight gun control legislation. In the 9400+ days since, there have been a total of 0 school shootings in the UK.”
Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler shared: “Here we go again – another U.S. president giving his useless ‘thoughts & prayers’ to the victims while doing nothing to stop 18 year old kids from legally buying ASSAULT RIFLES, for the purpose of killing. God forbid they buy alcohol at that age.”
There were also messages on social media from Offset, Jon Batiste (“We need to make some changes now”) Missy Elliott and Mandy Moore (“We must take action”).
Singer Lauv tweeted simply: “jesus f**king christ no more.”
This article has been updated since it was first published.