Amy Schumer Says She Regretted Writing ‘Trainwreck’ After Theater Shooting

Image by Getty Images/Instagram

By Maia Efrem April 26, 2016

Amy Schumer opened up about her reaction and feelings in the aftermath of a Louisiana cinema shooting that killed two and injured nine during a screening of Schumer’s “Trainwreck.”

In a candid interview and profile for Vanity Fair’s May issue, Schumer recalled the moment when she found out about the July 23, 2015 shooting from her publicist. “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,” she says, crying. “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.”

When friends reached out to comfort her, telling her that the shooting was not her “fault,” Schumer said she felt even worse. “I just felt helpless and stupid,” she said.

My heart is broken and all my thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Louisiana.

— Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 24, 2015

After a failed attempt at escape, the shooter, 59-year-old John Russell Houser, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the theater.

In the months since the shooting, the actress and comedienne has been a vocal and active gun-control supporter, teaming up with cousin and New York Senator Chuck Schumer to call on Congress to pass stricter gun control legislation.

Please everyone post about #aimingforchange to end gun violence

A photo posted by @amyschumer on Oct 25, 2015 at 11:47am PDT

Proud to stand with Senator Chuck Schumer today.

A photo posted by @amyschumer on Aug 3, 2015 at 1:58pm PDT

Schumer participated in a video for Everytown For Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates gun control. The celebrity-heavy video also features President Barack Obama, Michael J. Fox, Jennifer Aniston, Nathan Lane and more.

“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,” Schumer said to Vanity Fair, adding “And they’re like, ‘Thank you. Please keep going.’ Because, unfortunately, someone with some celebrity brings more attention to it than a politician.”

Maia Efrem is the former research editor and assistant to the editor and was also responsible for the Forward’s annual Salary Survey. Previously she served as the editor of Blognik Beat, a blog written by students who emigrated from or have ties to the Former Soviet Union. Maia is a graduate of Hunter College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

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