National Gun Violence Awareness Day was Friday, June 5th. In recognition of the day, Pearl Jam unearthed the uncensored version of their 1992 video for "Jeremy". According to a piece at Consequence of Sound, the song was based on the real-life suicide of high school student Jeremy Wade Delle, who shot himself in front of his class in January 1991. The haunting video for the song recreates the scene. To comply with early '90s TV standards, the version that aired on MTV was edited to zoom in on Jeremy's face, keeping the gun off camera. The uncensored video includes the complete final scene with Jeremy putting a gun in his mouth.
In accompanying social media posts, the band made the following statements on the video and on the subject of gun violence 28 years later:
“The increase in gun violence since the debut of ‘Jeremy’ is staggering.”
“We can prevent gun deaths whether mass shootings, deaths of despair, law enforcement, or accidental."
The band also released a 2020 version of their 1992-era Choices t-shirt with proceeds benefiting organizations working to prevent gun violence. You can order one here.
Photo: Getty Images