The 'Roar' singer dedicates the video to honor the victims of Malaysia Airlines crash after posting a tweet containing misinformation about the tragedy.
- Jul 22, 2014
AceShowbiz - Katy Perry has dedicated a special video to AIDS charity workers who were killed during Malaysia Airlines crash. On July 17, flight MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine, killing 298 passengers and crew. Some passengers were on the plane to travel to the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, where Perry was planning to launch a new promotional video with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The dedicated clip is titled "Unconditionally". On July 21, the singer took to Twitter and Facebook to share a link to the video, along with the message, "A PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM KATY: I worked with UNICEF on this new 'Unconditionally' video in support of the 35 million people living with HIV, especially the young people who often suffer in silence. On Thursday, we lost many people who dedicated their lives to fighting HIV on the Malaysia Airlines flight. They were traveling to the International AIDS Conference, where we were planning on launching this video. Now, I would also like to dedicate this video to them, to honor them, and to all the victims of MH17. #AIDS2014."
Perry was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador last year. On July 19, the singer offered condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones in the tragedy via Twitter. The tweet, which was shared to her over 54 million followers, contained incorrect information.
Perry wrote, "So INCREDIBLY sad to hear that there were 100 volunteers for @UNICEF on flight #MH17 Sending our prayers to all the families effected."
A spokeswoman for UNICEF clarified that that there was no UNICEF staff on board. There were, however, a number of researchers and volunteers heading to the International AIDS conference in Melbourne. Some of them were members of the World Health Organization (WHO), another UN organization.
She said that she was confused how Perry, whom they called "a fabulous ambassador" for the charity, reached that understanding, but confirmed that Perry's tweet was incorrect. "We are pleased to report there were no UNICEF staff on-board," she confirmed to News.com.au. "We do have global UNICEF staff and volunteers at the conference, including four UNICEF Australia Young Ambassadors," she added.
The singer has deleted the tweet after learning of the misinformation.
