Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Justin Bieber scolds concert fans who ‘couldn’t stay silent’ during tribute to Buffalo shooting victims

Singer asked fans to take a moment of silence to honour Buffalo shooting victims during his New York show

Inga Parkel
Monday 16 May 2022 15:55 BST
Comments
Justin Bieber cancels concert

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

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.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in