Paris attacks: Jared Leto promises 'peace is possible' in moving tribute to victims at American Music Awards

'France matters, Russia matters, Syria matters, Mali matters, the Middle East matters, the United States matters, the entire world matters'

Jared Leto pays tribute to Paris (Getty Images )

Jared Leto gave an emotional speech honouring the victims of the Paris terror attacks during the American Music Awards on Sunday evening after losing a friend in the Bataclan theatre shooting.

Leto paid tribute to the victims of the tragedy as he introduced Celine Dion for a rendition of Edith Piaf's ‘Hymne L’Amour' in French, a performance that left many audience members in tears. Dion sang at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles while a picture of the Eiffel Tour was projected behind her.

The Suicide Squad actor and singer recalled playing in the very same theatre where militants gunned down 129 people just a few months before the devastating attack.

Visibly emotional, he said: “Earlier this year my band Thirty Seconds To Mars was wrapping up a tour to Europe and looking for a good excuse to stop off in one of our favourite cities in the world: Paris. We decided to play a little impromptu show at a classic venue called the Bataclan. It was beautiful, peaceful, and unforgettable. What a difference a day makes.

“Seven months later on the evening of November 13, 2015, that same venue, Bataclan, was under siege, one in a series of terrorist attacks on Paris that changed the word forever. 129 innocent people died, 368 were injured, and another seven billion will forever be scarred by this horrific and senseless tragedy. Like some of you here, we had friends and former colleagues there that night. Steve Toth and Matt McJunkins both made it out. Thomas Ayed did not.

Leto shared a defiant message from Antoine Leiris, a journalist and father who lost his wife during the Bataclan massacre and addressed Isis directly in a Facebook post a few days later.

“Antoine Leiris was also at Bataclan and said: ‘Friday night, you took an exceptional life. The love of my life, the mother of my son. But, you will not have my hatred.’ He went on to say, ‘You're asking for it, but responding with hatred and anger is falling victim to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to view my countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my liberty for my security — you lost. We are just two now, my son and me. But we are stronger than all the armies in the world.’”

Finally, Leto addressed the refugee crisis by reminding the US that many of its citizens descend from migrants, including the Apple founder Steve Jobs, who was the son of a Syrian migrant.

“Tonight we honour the victims of the unimaginable violence that has taken place in this year in Paris and around the world,” he said.

“France matters, Russia matters, Syria matters, Mali matters, the Middle East matters, the United States matters, the entire world matters, and peace is possible.

"By the way, many of us here are the sons and daughters of immigrants and Steve Jobs is the son of a Syrian immigrant, president Barack Obama [is the son of a Syrian immigrant].”