March For Our Lives: Paul McCartney says: 'One of my best friends was killed in gun violence' as thousands march on Washington

1/6
Martin Coulter25 March 2018

Sir Paul McCartney paid tribute to late Beatles bandmate John Lennon during the 'March for Our Lives' protest in Washington, saying: "One of my best friends was killed in gun violence".

The music legend joined celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Kanye West, Demi Lovato, and Lin-Manuel Miranda at the march on Saturday.

He told CNN: "I've just come to support the people.

"One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here...it's so important to me."

The main protest organised by students in the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being held in Washington DC but hundreds more are taking place across the US and world including in New York City, London, and Edinburgh.

Lennon was shot dead outside the Dakota building where he lived with wife Yoko Ono in Manhattan on December 8 1980, two months after his 40th birthday.

Miley Cyrus - who is due to perform at the Washington DC rally - shared photos of her and her family on social media as she vowed: "I won't ever give up & neither will the millions that march with us today! #EndGunViolence."

Miley Cyrus performs at the demonstration on Saturday
AFP/Getty Images

Amy Schumer, Ariana Grande and Olivia Wilde are a number of other stars joining the anticipated one million people protesting across the US.

Meanwhile Kim Kardashian West wrote on Twitter: "So ready to March today! Landed in DC w North & Kanye.

"We stand in solidarity with the survivors of gun violence & students who are calling for action on common sense gun safety laws at #MarchForOurLives around the country."

On Friday, Taylor Swift lent her support to the movement in a rare political statement from the US pop star while George Clooney wrote a letter to the Parkland school students.

Swift wrote on Instagram: "No one should have to go to school in fear of gun violence. Or to a nightclub.

"Or to a concert. Or to a movie theater (sic). Or to their place of worship."

"I've made a donation to show my support for the students, for the March For Our Lives campaign, for everyone affected by these tragedies, and to support gun reform.

"I'm so moved by the Parkland High School students, faculty, by all families and friends of victims who have spoken out, trying to prevent this from happening again," she added.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in