Adele Pays Tribute to Victims of the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire in a Rare Statement

Adele has spoken out in a statement to honor the fourth anniversary of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire incident of 2017. In a video released yesterday with survivors organization Grenfell United, Adele took to the platform to share her remarks.

“Today marks four years of the Grenfell Tower fire,” the singer says in the video. “And still, there are so many unanswered questions. Still, the trial has taken way too long, and still, no one has been held accountable for that night’s events.”

She continues, “Yet, Grenfell United are still out here, fighting tirelessly for the justice and for the change that not only they deserve, that their community deserve, but [that] their whole country deserves. And for that, I’d like to thank you. Thank you for putting your pain aside for all of these years to fight the fight. I can’t imagine the kind of personal consequences that has on you. I really hope that this time next year, you will have the answers that you need to finally be able to breathe together.

“I love you. I’ll see you soon. Stay strong. We are all with you,” she concludes.

In what would be deemed one of the United Kingdom’s worst modern disasters, per BBC, the fire at the 24-story Grenfell Tower on June 14, 2017, in North Kensington, London, tragically killed more than 70 people, leaving several more injured. The flames were allegedly caused by a malfunctioning fridge freezer on the fourth floor, which spread to the upper stories within minutes, engulfing all four sides of the building. Further inquiries into the cause of the fire commenced in September.

Just following the incident, Adele immediately reached out to her community to offer her support. She visited the scene with her then husband, Simon Konecki, to be with survivors, and on her first night of shows at Wembley Stadium that same month, urged her concertgoers to donate to the victims of the fire. "Over these four shows, I want us to raise money together," the singer then told the crowd. "It has to be a joint effort because they need to know that everybody wants to help them, not just key people. I can promise you that the money we raise together over these four nights will go directly to the people who were living in that block and they will decide how that money is spent on them. I can assure you that."

She additionally made a surprise visit to Chelsea Fire Station in London, England, for tea and cake with the firefighters who helped put out the flames. In a Facebook post, station manager Ben King shared his experience from the unexpected encounter with Adele. "She just turned up at the station and knocked on the window and said she has some cakes for us. So we opened the door to her and then she took her sunglasses off and said, 'Hi, I'm Adele.' Everyone was so shocked," King said. "She came in, came up to the mess and had a cup of tea with the watch and then she joined us for the minute’s silence."

Adele has since spoken out on each anniversary. One year following the tragic incident, Adele solemnly sang a rendition of Bill Withers's "Lean on Me" alongside Grenfell survivors and their families. "Adele sees her work in the community as a full-time priority now her touring days are over for the foreseeable future," a source told The Sun. "Being a local Londoner, she's made no secret about how personally affected she was by the Grenfell Tower blaze and wants to help in every way she can."

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