Amy Schumer turned heads this week when she posed for the cover of Vanity Fair’s latest issue. Aside from her glamorous cover shoot, the comedian proved that she is a powerhouse in the entertainment world by talking about not only her career, but also a social issue that is close to her heart.
Towards the end of the cover story, Schumer opens up to the mag about her experience with gun violence last summer during the big screen run of her feature film, “Trainwreck.”
In July 2015, a 59-year-old man with a mental illness illegally purchased a gun and opened fire inside a movie theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana during a showing of Amy’s film. Two women were killed and nine others were injured, according to the mag.
Schumer was in Los Angeles during a promotional run for the flick when she noticed multiple missed calls from her publicist.
“I was laughing before I called her back, because I thought it was going to be like a sex tape [had surfaced] or something. So I was kind of laughing, like ready to…” she told Vanity Fair. “And then she told me there had been this shooting.”
She continued with tears in her eyes, “It really … I don’t know. It’s like when the Dark Knight shooting happened, and in Paris. The idea of people trying to go out and have a good time—you know, like looking forward to it?—I don’t know why that makes me the saddest.”
“So my publicist told me. And then I put on the news. I was by myself in a hotel, and I was just like, I wish I never wrote that movie,” said Amy. “I just felt helpless and stupid.”
She started to get angry, according to the mag, and she wanted to start making an effort to end gun violence. After reaching out to the victims’ families and making donations on their behalf, Amy started to educate herself on the topic.
The Comedy Central star reached out to her cousin, Senator Chuck Schumer, and asked for his help to end gun violence.
“It was clear to me she was a true believer,” said Senator Schumer. “She was smart. She was knowledgeable. She really cared. This wasn’t just something to advance a career.”
As a result, the pair started the Aiming for Change campaign, which strives to close the background-check loopholes for gun purchasers.
“Every event I go to, you see the same people, and they’re wearing a button of their kid, or kids, or their mother, or someone who died and didn’t have to. And they’re like, ‘Thank you. Please keep going.’ Because, unfortunately, someone with some celebrity brings more attention to it than a politician,” said Amy.
For more on Amy’s cause and her career, read her full interview with Vanity Fair.