Tony Marrero survived the Orlando nightclub shooting that took 49 lives in June. He was a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and received a pretty major surprise when Ellen introduced him to Katy Perry!

Marrero had been listening to Perry’s music, specifically her new single “Rise”, to help him through the shock and devastating aftermath of the shooting. He told Katy,

“I just want to say thank you for everything you do. Your lyrics to that song helped me from the day that I was in the hospital all the way to now. You’re amazing.”

Katy was overwhelmed and told Marrero that she was going to pay for his first year at film school (a passion he’s been wanting to pursue). Ellen joined in on the generosity and treated Tony to a private screening of Finding Dory and donated $25 thousand dollars to the victims of Pulse.

Filed under: ellen, ellen degeneres, katy perry, pulse-nightclub, shooting, tony marrero