ATLANTA — As a parent, the suicide bombing earlier this week in Manchester, England, had to hit home.
So many in attendance at the Ariana Grande concert were children or young adults.
And even if your children weren’t in attendance, you felt something real after learning that 22 people were killed in the attack.
Then there’s Grande, a world-famous singer and performer who will live with this for the rest of her life.
Just hours after the bombing, she sent a tweet to her nearly 50 million followers.
broken.
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 23, 2017
from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words.
Patrick Millsaps, a father of three young girls from Georgia, saw Grande’s tweet and decided to respond.
He penned an open letter to the singer, and the response has been incredible.
The tweet has been retweeted nearly 25,000 times.
In it, he begins by saying, "I am the father of three daughters — ages 13, 12 and 12. So, you have been a part of our family for years.”
He wrote, “I’m afraid I need to set you straight girl. So listen up and receive some redneck love from a daddy of daughters.”
He said things like, “You don’t have a dadgum thing to apologize for.”
He told her to, “Spend time with your God, your family and your friends who will give you space and support when you need it.”
His last piece of advice was, “When and only when you are ready, on behalf of all dads who love your… um… whose daughters’ love your music SING AGAIN.”
He closed by saying, “So there you go my dear, unsolicited advice from a fat dude in Georgia who loves his daughters and appreciates that there are people like you in the world. Take care of you first. Your fans aren’t going anywhere.”
Grande, who suspended her "Dangerous Woman" world tour and canceled several European shows after the bombing, announced Friday that she will return to Manchester, England, to give a concert to raise money for the victims of Monday's deadly bombing at her show there.
In a statement on Friday, the pop star says, "We won't let hate win" and offered to "extend my hand and heart and everything I possibility can give to you and yours."
"Our response to this violence must be to come closer together, to help each other, tom love more, to sing louder and to live more kindly and generously than we did before."
She did not announce a date for the concert.
Cox Media Group
