Justin Bieber has called out fans who made noise during a moment of silence at his Buffalo, New York concert, intended to honour the victims of the recent supermarket mass shooting.
The Canadian singer performed in the upstate New York city on Saturday (14 May), just hours after 10 people were slain in an act believed to be one of the deadliest racist massacres in recent American history.
Addressing the violent incident on stage, Bieber asked the crowd to pay tribute to the victims.
“As you know, there’s been tragedy in the city,” he began his message.
“But what we’re gonna do tonight, is we’re gonna honour those people, and I would love if we could just take a moment of silence. That would mean a lot to me.”
While most of the crowd stayed quiet, some fans could be heard screaming or shouting despite his wishes. The singer later addressed those who didn’t fully participate in the silence in an Instagram post.
“To the people who couldn’t stay silent to honour the lives that were so tragically lost, I urge you to ask yourself why?” Bieber wrote alongside a video of the solemn moment.
The “Peaches” singer made sure to acknowledge the massacre at several moments throughout the concert, sharing some of the clips on his social media account.
“There’s so much division in this world. So much racial injustice. And as you and I both know, racism is evil and it is diabolical,” he told fans.
“But what you and I get to do, is we get to be the difference makers. We get to be the people who continue to have the conversations with our friends and our families and our loved ones, who continue to be allies.”
On another Instagram post, Bieber reinforced his message of positivity with the caption: “RACISM WILL NOT PREVAIL GOD DOES.”
He continued: “WE STAND WITH YOU BUFFALO AND STAND AGAINST THIS RACIST ACT OF TERROR.”
Follow along here for live updates regarding the Buffalo shooting.
