Good Morning Britain criticised over Mariah Carey interview on Las Vegas shooting

Piers Morgan asked the singer about the incident while she was promoting a Christmas tour

Good Morning Britain’s hosts have been criticised for questioning Mariah Carey on the Las Vegas shootings during a pre-arranged interview.

At least 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival near the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

Lying back on a sofa wearing a red dress, a Christmas tree in the background, Carey discussed her upcoming UK Christmas shows before being asked about the incident.

“Mariah, you’ve played in Vegas many times. You know that in at this time of night it would be massively busy,” host Piers Morgan said.

“What is your reaction, just on a human level, to concert goers, fans of music, people who love performers like yourself, who have paid money to watch people perform on stage being targeted… Just your reaction on a human level to people that enjoy music being targeted in this way.”

Carey answered: “It’s terrible because people just going out to listen to music and that’s what they want to do. Really, they’re out for the night and something shocking like this happens and nobody could have expected it. It’s just wrong. I don’t really know what to say.”

Many people on Twitter were outraged by the incident, one writing: “Shame on Good Morning Britain, using a pre-planned Mariah Carey interview to blindside her about Vegas shooting. Classless tactics and now she's getting stick.”

Carey took to Twitter following the interview, Tweeting: “Horrified to hear about the shooting in Las Vegas. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. Praying for everyone's safety.”

Morgan has since responded to the incident, writing on social media: Mariah was booked to do an interview about her UK Christmas tour. Obviously news events in Vegas have now taken precedence. We told Mariah's people before the interview. Her reaction seemed very relevant given she's a performer who often has residence in Vegas."

The gunman has since been named as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, a white male who is believed to have shot down at concert-goers from the 32nd floor.

For the latest updates on Las Vegas, follow our live-blog here.