Late Night Hosts Rally Together to Address Tragic Orlando Shooting

Entertainment

 | June 14, 2016 | By Margo Gothelf

In the wake of the Orlando shooting, late night hosts took a break from telling jokes and addressed the senseless tragedy that killed 49 and injured 53.

The hosts gave their honest opinions about what needs to change and did not hold back about the all-too-familiar topic of gun violence in America.

On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon took a break from his upbeat titles and addressed the shooting during his monologue. As a new father, Fallon questioned how he could explain this to his children and what we can possibly take away from this horrible act of violence.

“Maybe there’s a lesson from all this,” he shared. “A lesson in tolerance. We need to support each other’s differences and worry less about our own opinions. Get back to debate and away from believing or supporting the idea that if someone doesn’t live the way you want them to live, you just buy a gun and kill them.”

He also explained that we need to embrace each other’s differences.

“We need to get back to being brave enough to accept that we have different opinions and that’s OK,” he said. “Because that’s what America is built on.”

Fallon concluded his monologue with a bit of advice sharing, “When I think of Orlando, I think of nothing but fun and joy and families. If anyone can do it, you can. Keep loving each other, keep respecting each other, and keep on dancing.”

Shortly after Fallon spoke, Seth Meyers took to the airways on Late Night with Seth Meyers replacing his monologue with his segment, “A Closer Look,” in which he went the more political route addressing Congress and Donald Trump. He also spoke about the commonality in the weapons used in Sunday’s shooting and previous mass shootings.

“[W]e’re likely about to enter yet another contentious national debate about gun control,” he explained. “When given a chance, Congress consistently chooses nothing as a course of action.”

During the segment, Meyers evaluated Trump’s tweets and how he tackled the tragedy where he basically congratulated himself for predicting such an event.

“Appreciate the congrats?” Meyers said. “I don’t know who’s been congratulating Donald Trump, but you may want to redirect your congratulations to first responders or those waiting in line to give blood. They’re the ones who deserve congrats and they’re not asking for it.”

Full Frontal host Samantha Bee was furious about the shooting and told everyone just how angry she was.

“Well, here we are. Now, after a massacre, the standard operating procedure is that you stand on stage and deliver some well-meaning words about how we will get through this together, how love wins, how love conquers hate,” she said. “And that is great. That is beautiful. But you know what? F**k it. I am too angry for that! Love does not win, unless we start loving each other enough to fix our f**king problems.”