Ariana Grande suspends her world tour
NEW YORK — Ariana Grande suspended her Dangerous Woman world tour and canceled several European shows Wednesday because of the deadly bombing at her concert in Manchester, England.
Shows today and Friday in London were canceled, along with concerts through June 5 in Belgium, Poland, Germany and Switzerland. Refunds will be granted, the pop star’s managers said in a statement. The tour was suspended to “further assess the situation and pay our proper respects” to the 22 dead and dozens injured in Monday’s suicide attack in the northern England town.
Grande’s tour is to pick up June 7 in Paris, followed by several more countries in Europe before moving on to Latin America, Asia and elsewhere.
“We ask at this time that we all continue to support the city of Manchester and all those families affected by this cowardice and senseless act of violence. Our way of life has once again been threatened but we will overcome this together,” the statement said.
Grande, who reportedly is in Boca Raton, Fla., with her family, has kept a low profile since the blast. Grande took to Twitter afterward to say she was “broken” and “i don’t have words.”
Some bands — including Blondie and Take That — canceled shows after the blast but representatives for several music acts — including Celine Dion, Shawn Mendes, Guns N’ Roses and Phil Collins — said they will honor their European dates this summer.
London ‘Wonder Woman’ premiere canceled
LONDON — The glitzy, star-filled London premiere of “Wonder Woman” has been scrapped following the terror attack in Manchester.
Stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright had been scheduled to walk a red carpet on May 31 to help welcome the super hero film to Europe. Warner Bros. said in a statement Wednesday the movie’s junket and premiere were off “in light of the current situation.”
The film will be released worldwide June 2.
“Wonder Woman” is the latest event canceled following the death of 22 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday.
Writer shares words by Mister Rogers after attack
The images of people helping one another in the wake of the deadly bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in England have prompted one writer to pay tribute to public television’s “Mister Rogers” for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the iconic children’s show.
Entertainment Weekly writer Anthony Breznican mentioned on Twitter a quote from Fred Rogers encouraging people to “look for the helpers” in times of trouble.
He related a story of a chance encounter with Rogers. He said Rogers took the time to comfort him about the loss of his grandfather by telling him stories of his own relationship with his grandfather.
Breznican said he cried after Rogers’ 2003 death, mourning someone he saw not as a celebrity, but as a “neighbor.”
Breznican posted his widely shared tribute Tuesday.