Salma Hayek’s sleepless night over Manchester attack

Salma Hayek struggled to contain her emotions as she discussed the Manchester attack during a panel talk at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday (23May17).
The Frida actress reacted emotionally following the news that at least 22 people attending had died in an explosion at singer Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday night.
A lone suicide bomber launched the attack on the venue shortly after the performance had finished. According to the Associated Press, 12 children under the age of 16 years old are among the injured.
The 50-year-old actress revealed Ariana is her daughter Valentina’s favourite singer, and that she may have attended the show if it had been held in London.
According to British newspaper The Independent, when asked if she had a message for young girls who feel scared about the attacks, the actress gave a heartfelt response.
“No, because I’m not sure what to feel today, and I’m terrified and I don’t know what to say to my daughter,” she told the audience at the Kering Women in Motion Talk. “And I’m not going to pretend that I’m sorted out, that I’m very smart about it, because I’m still emotionally impacted,” she said as she went on to explain the personal resonance the news of the atrocity had for the actress, who lives in London with Valentina and her husband, Kering CEO, Francois-Henri Pinault.
“And my daughter… Ariana Grande is her favourite singer. If it was in London, this concert, my daughter would have been in that concert,” she added. “It’s her favourite singer. My daughter’s nine. She would have been there, with or without me.
“This is one of the reasons why I have not slept,” Salma shared. “So do I have a message? No, I haven’t processed it. I’m not going to fake something. I’m opinionated when I know what I’m talking about it. I don’t even know where to begin here.”
Salma spoke as Cannes organisers announced a moment of silence will be held at the festival as a mark of respect for the victims of the Manchester attack at 3pm. A planned champagne reception to celebrate Disney Pixar’s Cars 3 has also been cancelled “out of respect for the casualties and all of those impacted” announced a representative for the film studio.
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the film festival called the Manchester bombing “another attack on culture, youth and joyfulness, on our freedom, generosity and tolerance…”.