Chris Stapleton grieves for lost innocence following the deadly attack in Las Vegas that took the lives of 58 victims.
The country star recently stopped by CMT After MidNite for a visit and reacted to last weekend’s mass shooting at Route 91 Harvest festival, explaining the affect reaches far beyond country music.
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“The fear and the terror, and not just in country music—I think all over the country this is felt,” Chris says exclusively. “Where does someone go in their mind to do these unthinkable things? I don’t understand it. You want to look for reasons or some explanation even, and I don’t know that there is one. There’s a certain amount of innocence that gets lost from it when these things happen.”
The “Broken Halos” singer adds the tragedy will “not consciously” affect how he performs in the future.
“I’m not saying not to be afraid and not be terrified of things like that, but... I want to step out there with a certain degree of defiance against things like that and not let fear and hate and just evil run my decisions and how I carry myself,” he says. “If we do that, then we’re letting that win and rule us and that’s exactly what people who would commit heinous acts like that would want. Personally, I can’t give in to that. I can’t do it.”
Related: Eric Church Debuts Song for Las Vegas Shooting Victims
Watch as CMT celebrates Chris and four other honorees during the 2017 CMT Artists of the Year, airing October 18.
To learn how you can help in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting, click here.
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