“Bridesmaids” director Paul Feig responded to a post Monday about the death of his friend Laura “Lauri” Carleton, the 66-year-old shop owner who was murdered over an LGBTQ+ pride flag, providing additional details about the attack.
Feig countered a tweet claiming that the real reason Carleton was killed must have been because she refused to hand over the money in the cash register when the perpetrator confronted her, rather than the pride flag she had hanging in front of her store.
“The man who shot her was tearing down her pride flag. Lauri walked out and asked him ‘Why do you need to do this?’” Feig wrote on X/Twitter. “He ranted at her with anti-gay [invective] and she asked him again ‘But why do you need to do this?’ And then he shot her twice in the chest. There’s no agenda here.”
Feig also sought to dispel widespread rumors that the gunman was Carleton’s brother.
“I can’t believe I actually have to address this but this is absolutely false. Totally and absolutely,” Feig wrote.
Police in the area of Carleton’s killing have yet to release the shooter’s identity, but Feig said that “he was of no relation to Lauri. Zero.”
He closed that thought with a broader caution, writing, “Gang, we all have to calm the rhetoric down. All of us.”
GLAAD also released a statement in response to Carleton’s death on Monday.
“Our hearts are broken for Laura Ann (Lauri) Carleton, her community, and her loved ones. The tragic, targeted killing of Lauri over the Pride flag displayed at her Lake Arrowhead store was senseless and, unfortunately, part of a growing number of attacks on LGBTQ people and our allies,” the statement reads. “GLAAD and the [Anti-Defamation League] have tracked more than 350 anti-LGBTQ threats and attacks this year, coinciding with a disturbing increase in anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation across the country.”
Carleton did not identify as LGBTQ+ but was outspoken in support of the community and gay rights.
“No one should feel unsafe or be attacked for who they are or for simply supporting the LGBTQ community,” the statement continued. “Lauri’s murder is the latest example of how anti-LGBTQ hatred hurts everyone, whether they are LGBTQ or not. We know a supermajority of Americans support LGBTQ people, and this horrific act of violence is not indicative of American values.”
Feig and “Somebody Somewhere” actress Bridget Everett were among those who knew Carleton and previously paid tribute to her.
