It Was Only A Matter of Time Before Emma González Met Ellen DeGeneres

Emma González was joined by two other survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Cameron Kasky and Jaclyn Corin, for an episode of The Ellen Show that aired on Friday. Since the shooting, these three Parkland, Florida teenagers have been leading a scorched-earth crusade against the NRA and loose gun laws, along with other fellow survivors.

“You are all amazing,” Ellen DeGeneres declared at the start of the interview. The massacre last Wednesday took 17 people’s lives and left many more injured. Many of the survivors have taken to social media to advocate for stricter gun laws, and even appeared on a special televised CNN Town Hall earlier this week, where González, Kasky and other survivors faced off with Senator Marco Rubio and NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch.

González garnered nationwide attention after she made a powerful speech against gun violence just days after the shooting took place at her school. The openly bisexual teen has proved herself a bullheaded force and articulate public speaker and, while on Ellen, spoke highly of her alma mater, insisting that Marjory Stoneman Douglas High instilled her and her fellow students with the tools they needed to respond to the tragedy.

“We are thankful to have been in a school that educated us almost perfectly to handle this situation,” she told DeGeneres.

Kasky added that survivor’s guilt has played a role in his activism. “I wish I had been able to be a part of this before I had to feel it at home,” he said. “I almost feel guilty It took us feeling that anguish for us to get involved, but we’re here now. But we just have to keep going and realize that we’re here to fight the good fight.”

The survivors also joked about the outrageous far-right conspiracy theories that he and his fellow students are conspiracy actors. “If you’ve seen [me act in school productions],” he said, “you know I’m not somebody who deserves any money for acting.”

The student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas have already spurred more progress in the debate over gun control than ever before, and they show no signs of slowing down. They’ve organized a March For Our Lives in Washington D.C., accompanied by satellite marches all over the countryjust the latest widespread demonstration since Trump took office. DeGeneres also announced that Shutterfly will be donating $50,000 to the cause, and praised González for her brilliantly effective speech that has now made her an icon for the movement.

“Your voices,”the talk show host said,”are very powerful.”