Prince Harry made his first public appearance since attending the funeral of his grandfather Prince Philip in April to speak at the star-studded Vax Live special. Selena Gomez hosted the event, presented by Global Citizen, on May 2 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in front of an audience of vaccinated essential workers. Harry, who chaired the event alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, called for global COVID-19 vaccine availability after the special passed its goal to raise funds to purchase 10 million doses. “This pandemic cannot end unless we act collectively with an unprecedented commitment to our shared humanity,†Harry said. “The vaccine must be distributed to everyone everywhere.†Other speakers included President Joe Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, Pope Francis, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, French president Emmanuel Macron, and other European leaders. “None of us should be comfortable thinking that we could be fine when so many others are suffering,†Harry added.
Legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan appeared at the event to give a message about the dire wave of COVID-19 in India. “As a global citizen, I appeal to all global citizens to rise up, speak to your governments, your pharmaceutical companies and ask them to donate, to give, to extend a helping hand to the public that needs it the most,†he said. “Every effort counts.â€
Other celebrities who appeared at the event included Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, Jimmy Kimmel, Gayle King, Olivia Munn, David Letterman, Nomzamo Mbatha, and Sean Penn. Performers included J Balvin, H.E.R., Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder, and Jennifer Lopez — who, according to People, brought out her mother, Guadalupe RodrÃguez, for a duet of “Sweet Caroline.†“When I was thinking about what song to sing tonight, I remembered the song she used to always sing to me when I was a baby,†Lopez said. Vax Live is set to air on May 8 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, CBS, YouTube, iHeartMedia radio stations, and the iHeartRadio app.