Celebrities at Kids’ Choice Awards praise youth marches

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The power of the youth rallies against gun violence that were held across the U.S. this weekend impressed many of the celebrities who turned out at the Kids’ Choice Awards.

Stars including former couple Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon voiced their support for the hundreds of thousands of teenagers and their supporters who spent Saturday marching for gun control.

“We were with them in spirit,” Carey said as she arrived that night to the annual event with ex-husband Cannon and their twins, Moroccan and Monroe.

“Oh, it’s so amazing. Absolutely! I want them to see that as well,” Cannon said, pointing to his son perched on his shoulders.

The Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles featured host John Cena and others getting doused with green slime, as is tradition, along with performances and awards.

Before the ceremony, stars praised the kids and teens who participated in the rallies in the kind of numbers seen during the Vietnam era. They were called to action by a new corps of leaders: student survivors of the high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead on Feb. 14.

The demonstration in Los Angeles was the first protest for 15-year-old Jenna Ortega. The “Jane the Virgin” actress was deeply moved.

“We are kids. We have so much ahead of us. We have these full lives to live that these other people have already lived,” she said.