Lana Del Rey said she will donate the proceeds from her latest single to the victims of recent mass shootings in the US.
Incidents at a food festival in Gilroy, California, a shopping mall in El Paso, Texas, and in downtown Dayton, Ohio, have reignited the fierce debate over gun control in America.
In total, 35 people were killed in the shootings while dozens more were seriously injured.
Thinking of everyone this morning – we finished our song and just want to let you know all of my proceeds are going to Gilroy Garlic Festival Victims Relief Fund, El Paso Community Relief Fund and Dayton Foundation
— Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) August 9, 2019
Singer-songwriter Del Rey has released a song in response to the massacres, titled Looking For America, and said all the money raised will go to charities helping victims of the shootings.
She said: “Thinking of everyone this morning – we finished our song and just want to let you know all of my proceeds are going to Gilroy Garlic Festival Victims Relief Fund, El Paso Community Relief Fund and Dayton Foundation.”
Del Rey, 34 and known for hits including Video Games and Summertime Sadness, also shared a clip of herself performing the song with an explanation for why she wrote it.
She said she knows “I’m not a politician and I’m not trying to be so excuse me for having an opinion”, but the shootings “really affected me on a cellular level”.
President Donald Trump has been visiting the towns and cities affected by the latest instances of gun violence in the US, often encountering protests from people arguing he has not done enough to legislate against guns.