Pop megastar Katy Perry made an impassioned plea for people to “co-exist” and said that “barriers” or “borders” could detract from that goal in an interview following the terrorist bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, U.K. on Monday night that claimed the lives of at least 22 people and injured dozens of others.
In an interview Tuesday on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, the “Chained to the Rhythm” singer suggested that people “unite” following the tragedy, which occurred as young fans and their parents were leaving the 21,000-seat arena at around 10:35 p.m. local time.
“Whatever we say behind people’s backs, the Internet can be a little bit ruthless as far as fan bases go but I think that the greatest thing we can do is just unite and love on each other,” Perry said, adding, “No barriers, no borders, we all just need to co-exist.”
A suspected suicide bomber, identified as Salman Abedi, detonated what is believed to be a nail bomb as concert-goers were exiting the Manchester Arena. The attack took the lives of at least 22 people, many of them children, and wounded at least 59 more.
Grande has reportedly suspended her tour, tweeting late Monday that the bombing has left her “broken.”
Perry, for her part, said Tuesday that “we’re just all loving on each other and we should just stay loving on each other.”
“If this gets out to anyone, I just want to say that I love all of you out there and I just know that some of our fan bases kind of go both ways. Ari’s fans are my fans, and my fans are Ari’s fans.” Perry added. “Tell everyone, ‘I love you’ today.”
Perry’s preference for no “borders” or “barriers” may come from her staunch opposition to President Donald Trump, who promised during the 2016 campaign to build a security wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The singer was a vocal supporter of former Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton, and previously marched in the anti-Trump Women’s March on Washington shortly after Trump’s inauguration.
The 32-year-old star has subsequently entered a new era of “purposeful” pop music and established herself as a vocal member of the anti-Trump “Resistance” movement.
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