James Corden Pays Tribute to Orlando Shooting Victims at the Tony Awards

James Corden opened the 2016 Tony Awards on Sunday night with a dedication to the victims of the shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando that left 50 people dead and another 53 injured.

“On behalf of the whole theater community and every person in this room, our hearts go out to all of those affected by this tragedy,” Corden said.

Corden, the host of the program and of CBS’s Late Late Show, added that the “theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality and gender is equal, is embraced and is loved.”

The brief dedication was followed by an opening number spoofing the first song in Hamilton, featuring Corden himself in the place of the founding father.