Wendy Williams fought back tears as she paid tribute to Manchester bombing victim Martyn Hett, during her US show on Tuesday (30 May).
The host explained that Martyn was a fan who had been due to be in the audience for filming this week, before he died following last Monday’s (22 May) terror attack.
As a tribute to Martyn, Wendy also left an empty chair in the audience.
She said: “One of the things you might have noticed today is that there’s an empty chair. It’s there for a reason.
“You remember the Manchester bombing from last week? There were 22 innocent people killed.
“One of those people was a 29-year-old Wendy watcher by the name of Martyn Hett.
“Martyn, he was supposed to be in our Wendy audience yesterday and today. He saved for two years to have a fabulous time in New York and come to our show.
“He called it a trip of a lifetime on his social media and he was really popular on Twitter and he had his own pop culture website and he’s remembered as a man who loved life, like all my people.
“He loved life with passion, courage and laughter. I spoke to his best girlfriend over in London and told her that I was doing this and she was floored, like, ‘oh my gosh he would love this.’
“So Martyn in honour of you, we’re keeping that chair open and our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.”
A number of celebrities have paid tribute to the 22 victims of the attack, and Nick Grimshaw previously shared his condolences following Martyn’s death.
The Radio 1 DJ explained that he was one of Martyn’s many Twitter followers, explaining: “We were only talking about how funny he is just the other day in the studio.”
‘Coronation Street’ bosses also announced that a bench dedicated to the victims will be part of their set extension, which is currently being built.