Singer Richard Marx lashes out at NRA after July 4 slaughter in his former hometown

Brian Niemietz

He’s right here waiting for answers.

Singer Richard Marx — known for his sugary 1980s pop-tunes — had choice words for the National Rifle Association following a shooting during a July 4th parade in his former hometown of Highland Park, Ill.

“F--k you @NRA,” the opinionated “Right Here Waiting” crooner tweeted at the NRA Monday. “Every single one of you. F--k you. Ignorant, soulless accomplices to the murders of countless men, women and children.”

Marx’s Independence Day outburst followed the nation’s latest mass shooting that left at least six people dead and 24 others wounded in the tony suburb where he was raised. His tweet was in response to one by the NRA celebrating the U.S. being a country “because of brave souls with guns” who fight for freedom.

“I grew up in Highland Park,” Marx tweeted. “I’m actively reaching out to check on the welfare of people I still know there.”

The 58-year-old hitmaker said he’s always “heartbroken” to hear about mass shootings, but this one literally hit close to home, leaving him “extra” saddened. Marx added he’s also “extra angry at the senselessness” of this massacre, for which no motive has been determined.

Richard Marx attends a Legacy of Changing Lives Gala on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles.
Richard Marx attends a Legacy of Changing Lives Gala on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles.


Richard Marx attends a Legacy of Changing Lives Gala on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/)

The NRA came under heavy fire in late May when it held a rally in the Lone Star state days after 19 children and two educators were shot dead by a teenage gunman in a Uvalde, Texas, school.

Prominent conservatives including former President Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz were featured speakers at that celebration, where both men argued better doors on schools and stronger mental health evaluations would save lives.

Two police officers stand their at post the day after a deadly mass shooting on the Westside of Highland Park, Ill. on Tuesday, July 5, 2022, as the American flag flies at half-staff on the Eastside. A shooter fired on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop, spraying the crowd with gunshots initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of panicked revelers of all ages fled in terror.
Elliot Lieberman gathers his folding chairs one day after a mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill. on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. A shooter fired on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop spraying the crowd with gunshots initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of panicked revelers of all ages fled in terror.
Elliot Lieberman gathers his folding chairs one day after a mass shooting in downtown Highland Park, Ill. on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. A shooter fired on an Independence Day parade from a rooftop spraying the crowd with gunshots initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of panicked revelers of all ages fled in terror.
This undated handout photo provided by the City of Highland Park Police Department shows Robert (Bobby) E. Crimo III. Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said Monday, July 4, 2022, that police have identified 22-year-old Crimo as a person of interest in an Independence Day parade shooting in suburban Chicago.
This undated handout photo provided by the City of Highland Park Police Department shows Robert (Bobby) E. Crimo III. Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said Monday, July 4, 2022, that police have identified 22-year-old Crimo as a person of interest in an Independence Day parade shooting in suburban Chicago.
Empty chairs are seen on the street after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Empty chairs are seen on the street after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement conduct a search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement conduct a search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Students are escorted by police officers as they cross under police tape after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Students are escorted by police officers as they cross under police tape after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, on Monday, July 4, 2022.
A police officer reacts as he walks in downtown Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022, where a mass shooting took place at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
A police officer reacts as he walks in downtown Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022, where a mass shooting took place at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade.
In this still image from video, a man runs for cover with a child in a stroller after gunfire was heard at the Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Monday morning, July 4, 2022.
In this still image from video, a man runs for cover with a child in a stroller after gunfire was heard at the Fourth of July parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Monday morning, July 4, 2022.
Police search the downtown area of the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022.
Police search the downtown area of the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill., after a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade Monday, July 4, 2022.
Police search the downtown area in Highland Park after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Police search the downtown area in Highland Park after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in a building after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb on Monday, July 4, 2022.
Police officers cross under police tape at the scene of a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Police officers cross under police tape at the scene of a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade in a suburb of Chicago, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
Law enforcement search in downtown Highland Park, a Chicago suburb, after a mass shooting at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Monday, July 4, 2022.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. Reports indicate at least five people were killed and 19 injured in the mass shooting.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois. Reports indicate at least five people were killed and 19 injured in the mass shooting.
Chairs and blankets are left abandoned after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
Chairs and blankets are left abandoned after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
First responders work the scene of a shooting at a Fourth of July parade on July 4, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.

The gunman in Monday’s shooting in Illinois is still at large.

Marx, in his string of tweets Monday, also lashed out at “the kind of sick, twisted, ignorant sociopath who enables domestic terrorism in this country,” which he called “trash.”

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