US School Shooting Survivor Criticises Madonna Video

Emma González, who survived the Parkland school shooting in the US, describes music video which depicts a shooting in a nightclub as "horrible"

US gun control campaigner and survivor of the Parkland school shooting Emma González has spoken out against Madonna’s new music video which depicts gun violence.

The clip for the single ‘God Control’ depicts a gunman opening fire on a nightclub dancefloor, referencing the 2016 shooting at Orlando gay club Pulse, which killed 49 people and wounded 53 others.

Despite the video’s intentions to speak out against gun violence and for control in the US, González has described the video as "horrible" and "fucked up" in a series of tweets.

She continued: "[Madonna] should have sent out a message warning what her new video contained, ESPECIALLY to the Pulse Victims, ESPECIALLY as it was released Just After the Anniversary on June 12th."

González suggested that people tag pictures and videos from the video depicting violence with warnings that they might be triggering. She also suggested that if people want to support the gun control movement, they could donate to the One Pulse Foundation, which was set up in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting.

One track on Madonna’s new album, Madame X, samples a speech González gave a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in February 2018. The track called ‘I Rise’ features a clip at the start of González saying: "Us kids don’t know what we’re talking about, that we’re too young to understand how the government works. We call BS."

Madonna has yet to respond to González’ criticisms.

You can read our review of her latest album here.

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