Katy Perry Surprises Orlando Shooting Victim on Emotional ‘Ellen’

Early on the morning of June 12, Tony Marrero was inside Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., when a gunman opened fire, killing 49 people. Marrero was hit four times in the back and once in the arm. He “died” on the way to the hospital but was revived.

While in the hospital, Marrero sent Ellen host Ellen DeGeneres a picture of himself with a sign that read, “I’m still swimming, Ellen,” with a drawing of Dory, Ellen’s character from the animated film Finding Dory, on it. DeGeneres called Marrero personally and invited him to come on the show when he got out of the hospital. When DeGeneres learned that Katy Perry’s hit song “Rise” was an inspiration to Marrero while he was recovering, she also invited the pop star on the show to surprise him.

Coming out of commercial with Marrero on Ellen, they played “Rise” in the studio and for good reason. After Marrero explained to the crowd what that song meant to him, DeGeneres had two questions for him.

“Have you met Katy yet, or no?” she asked a speechless Marrero. “You wanna meet Katy?”

Perry and Marrero were already in tears before they met and shared a long hug onstage. The emotion continued once they sat down to talk. Marrero got the chance to tell Perry what that song meant to him and how it has helped him through the past few months, and Perry got the chance to help Marrero realize his dream of going to film school. She offered to pay for his first year.

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