Nick Jonas Spoke at a Vigil for Orlando, and People Are Confused

[chaya]

Why did straight, cis, white singer Nick Jonas speak at a vigil for the victims of the Orlando, Florida, shooting?

It's a mystery the morning after, and it was a mystery to the attendees of the New York City vigil. Jonas stepped on stage for roughly three minutes, according to Mic style editor Evan Ross Katz (who attended the event and took video of the speech). His speech could best be described as "well-intentioned but incoherent'"- and raised serious questions from some attendees as to what his presence on stage really meant.

• Nick Jonas Fandom @NickJonasFandom
• I'm actually crying after your speech at the #Stonewall Inn for Orlando victims @nickjonas 🌈🙌 #LoveIsLove #NickJonas

Throughout the first part of his speech, attendees reportedly shouted names of the victims and yelled "Say their names" - which apparently happened during other speeches as well.

• Zoë Schlanger ✔ @zoeschlanger
• The crowd, thoroughly frustrated with a lineup of mostly straight officials, drowning out speakers with "SAY THEIR NAMES" at Stonewall rn

According to multiple accounts, someone yelled "I love you, Zac Efron!" at Jonas.

• Josh Dawsey ✔ @jdawsey1
• Crowd is not impressed at all with Nick Jonas. "I love you Zac Efron!" yells out someone in crowd. Little cheering and more mocking.

• Jillian Jorgensen ✔ @Jill_Jorgensen
• "We love you Zac Efron," someone yells at Nick Jonas. Jonas says he looks out in the crowd and sees.. Guy yells: "You see money!"

"When you look out and see the faces here, you know that if we all raise our small voices, we can do a lot of good," Jonas said in his conclusion. "Enough is enough, and I think we're heading in the right direction. Thank you so much for letting me speak, and please know you are not alone. New York is so strong, and we ain't scared of anybody."

While Nick Jonas isn't orignally from New York, nor does he live there now (as of October, he was staying in a house Ellen DeGeneres owns in Los Angeles), he did note his connection to the city in his speech.

"I grew up here in New York City and New Jersey, performing on Broadway shows, surrounded by some of my closest friends from the LGBT community," Jonas said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "My father, a minister from New Jersey, shaped my view that love is love, that we are all equal."

Yet this connection wasn't enough for many, who were puzzled by Jonas' speaking appearance at the vigil.

Source.