George And Amal Clooney’s Support For Florida Shooting Survivors Gets Oprah’s Backing

Together, they've pledged $1 million to the March for Our Lives demonstration.
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George Clooney and wife Amal Clooney’s plan to march in support of the Florida high school shooting’s survivors has inspired Oprah to match their related donation of a half-million dollars.

The Clooneys released a joint statement on Tuesday to announce they will be in attendance at March for Our Lives on March 24 in Washington, D.C. The demonstration was organized by the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to push for an end to gun violence in schools.

“Amal and I are so inspired by the courage and eloquence of these young men and women from Stoneman Douglas High School,” the couple said in a statement to Variety. “Our family will be there on March 24 to stand side by side with this incredible generation of young people from all over the country.”

The two also pledged a donation dedicated to their twins, who were born last summer.

“In the name of our children Ella and Alexander, we’re donating $500,000 to help pay for this groundbreaking event. Our children’s lives depend on it,” they added.

Responding to the Clooneys’ announcement, Winfrey tweeted later Tuesday, “I couldn’t agree with you more” and pledged to match their $500,000 donation.

Stoneman Douglas students, including Jaclyn Corin, Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, David Hogg and Alex Wind, have come together in the wake of the shooting to ask lawmakers to reform America’s gun laws and to “demand that their lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools today.”

Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Zendaya and Justin Bieber have also expressed their support of the march on social media, with some communicating directly with the survivors.

The Clooneys previously opened their wallets following the violence sparked by a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August. The couple donated $1 million to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that works to protect civil rights and combat hate groups.

At the time, President Donald Trump said protesters on “both sides” of the conflict in Charlottesville were to blame for the situation.

“Amal and I wanted to add our voice (and financial assistance) to the ongoing fight for equality,” George Clooney said at the time. “There are no two sides to bigotry and hate.”

This story has been updated to include Oprah Winfrey’s tweet.

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