Adam Levine to Pay for Funeral of ‘Voice’ Contestant Who Was Shot to Death

Adam Levine on February 22, 2015 in Hollywood, California Image by Getty Images

By Josefin Dolsten June 13, 2016

Singer-songwriter Adam Levine is paying for the funeral of a 22-year-old “Voice” contestant who was shot to death on Friday.

Christina Grimmie’s brother, Marcus, wrote Sunday on Facebook that he was “blown away” that Levine had called his mother and offered to shoulder the cost of the funeral and travel arrangements.

Levine, who coached Grimmie on “the Voice,” shared a photo of himself and the singer in a tweet, writing that he and his wife Behati Prinsloo were “devastated” by the young woman’s death.

Behati and I are absolutely devastated and heartbroken by Christina Grimmie’s death. Our hearts go out to her family pic.twitter.com/y4OMkm0uXu

— Adam Levine (@adamlevine) June 11, 2016

Grimmie was shot in Orlando by 27-year-old Kevin Loibl after a performance. Police did not offer the gunman’s motive, although a spokesman said Loibl had traveled to Orlando to commit the crime in question, CNN reported.

On Sunday, violence again shook Orlando when a gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Contact Josefin Dolsten at [email protected] or on Twitter, @JosefinDolsten

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO