On June 10, 2016, The Voice singer Christina Grimmie was shot by a deranged fan during a meet and greet following her concert in Orlando, Florida.
She previously gained fame from posting covers on her YouTube channel and eventually made it onto the sixth season of The Voice, where she placed third with the help of her coach, Adam Levine. Following her death, Levine reached out to her family and offered to pay for her funeral.
During her short 22 years of life, she became close friends with The Voice coaches and fellow contestants, as well as other artists like Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, and had a huge impact on her loyal fanbase.
Because of that loyal fanbase, she was posthumously nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice Music Web Star. The awards, which are fan voted, were held Sunday night (July 31). Grimmie won the award, which was a first for the late singer, but it was not shown during the broadcast.
According to Us Weekly, her family is extremely “disappointed” FOX (the network airing the show) chose not to air her win.
Thanks to a fan’s excellent memory, they brought to light that last year’s Choice Music Web Star’s win was broadcasted during the show.
https://twitter.com/jaywasright/status/760086883300966400
This wasn’t the show’s first faux pas of the night, according to Grimmie fans.
Actress Jessica Alba led a powerful segment dedicated to the victims of gun violence specifically from the San Bernardino, Newtown and Orlando shootings.
“Tonight, we stand together with these teens united in a call for peace in an end to this violence,” Alba pleaded. She was joined onstage by several teens who have been affected by recent gun violence including Alton Sterling’s song.
Grimmie’s fans took to Twitter to show their outrage that FOX failed to include her in a segment about gun violence when one of their own nominees, nay winners, was a victim of gun violence herself.
#ChoiceMusicWebStar Why couldn't they mention Christina Grimmie when they were TALKING ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE?!?? #ChoiceMusicWebStar
— “You’re Alex right?!?!” 🏳️🌈 (@SwiftieAlex) August 1, 2016
A source close to the Grimmie family told Entertainment Tonight that “the fans have a right to be upset”.
Congratulations, Christina on a well-deserved win. We wish everyone could have seen you win. Our hearts go out to Grimmie’s family.