AWARDS SHOW
Kelsea Ballerini dedicates 2023 CMT Awards to gun violence victims
Kelsea Ballerini honors lives of the Nashville shooting victims at the 2023 CMT Awards
Singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini hosted this year’s CMT Awards, which celebrates achievements in country music. In light of the recent Nashville school shooting, Ballerini dedicated the awards show to victims of gun violence.
“On March 27, 2023, three 9-year-olds, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs along with Dr. Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak and Mike Hill walked into The Covenant School and didn’t walk out,” Ballerini began.
“Tonight’s broadcast is dedicated to the ever-growing list of families, friends, survivors, witnesses and responders whose lives continue to forever be changed by gun violence.”
The singer-songwriter’s moving speech touched many hearts. Ballerini urged viewers and attendees to turn the emotions they felt into tangible actions, to help protect children and communities from senseless violence.
“I pray — deeply — that closeness and community we feel for the next few hours of music can soon turn into action, like real action, that moves us forward together to create change for the safety of our kids and our loved ones.”
Kelsea Ballerini gets personal in CMT Awards gun violence speech
For Ballerini, the issue of gun violence is a cause near and dear to her heart. At this weekend’s CMT Awards, she told her personal story of loss due to gun violence.
“I wanted to personally stand up here and share this moment because on Aug. 21, 2008, I watched Ryan McDonald, my 15-year-old classmate at Central High School, lose his life to a gun in our cafeteria,” the singer-songwriter said.
Kelsea Ballerini’s speech touched many hearts
Ballerini takes her platform seriously. After the Nashville shooting on March 27, she hoped to spotlight the ever-growing issue of gun violence on one of country music’s biggest stages.
Her efforts were heard loud and clear. Many expressed their support for Ballerini after talking about a traumatic school shooting experience in her own life and highlighting such a pressing issue.
The country singer-songwriter later performed ‘If You Go Down’ at the awards show, with Drag Queens Manila Luzon, Jan Sport, Kennedy Davenport, and Olivia Lux onstage with her.