Ariana Grande Manager on Manchester Attack: ‘Fear Cannot Rule the Day’
Ariana Grande‘s manager, Scooter Braun, posted a string of emotional tweets about the Manchester terror attack on Wednesday. “I will choose to live than to be afraid,” he wrote. On Monday night, a suicide bomber detonated a homemade explosive device outside Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena, killing 22 and injuring at least 59.
Braun spoke about returning from England, going out to dinner with his parents and experiencing joy for the first time in days. “I will honor those that [are] lost by living each day full,” Braun wrote. “Full of fun, full of laughter, full of joy. I welcome the differences of my neighbor.”
“The wish of terrorism is to take away that feeling of freedom and joy. No. That is my answer. No. We can’t allow it. Fear cannot rule the day. More people die each year from car crashes than terrorism. Yet I will get in my car. I will choose to live than to be afraid.” Braun also expressed solidarity not just with those in Manchester, but also those in Syria and Jakarta, Indonesia, where two suicide bombers set off explosives Thursday.
“We will honor you by not giving in to the darkness. So if you think you scared us … if you think your cowardice acts made us change how we live … sorry. All you did was make us appreciate every day. With extraordinary evil we must fight with extraordinary greatness … Am I angry? Hell yes. But how will we respond? With everything you think you took from us … love and joy and life!”
Grande canceled seven upcoming dates on the European leg of her tour following the Manchester terror attack. The pop singer is expected to resume her trek June 7th in Paris with subsequent South America, Southeast Asia and Australia runs. After the attack, Grande wrote via Twitter: “Broken. From the bottom of my heart, I am so sorry. I don’t have words.”
In an act of resilience per Braun’s words, a Grande fan campaign since the attack catapulted her 2015 single “One Last Time” to Number One on the United Kingdom’s iTunes chart, per NME. According to local Manchester sources, the song was one of the last songs Grande played before the explosions sounded.
On Tuesday, British authorities identified the Manchester Arena bomber as Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British man of Libyan descent. According to ABC, at least eight other suspects allegedly connected to the attack have been arrested. The investigation is ongoing.