MGM employees who are temporarily out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic are thanking Bruno Mars, who stepped up and donated $1 million of his own money to help those struggling to make ends meet.
Unemployment numbers released on Thursday show that more than 3 million Americans filed for unemployment in the week ending March 21, as businesses across the nation shutter.
The "Grenade" artist had been performing a limited Vegas residency at the Park Theater at Park MGM since 2016.
Mars made his sizable donation to the MGM Resorts Foundation. A portion of the money will go toward the Employee Emergency Grant Fund and the Children’s Medical Support Fund.
A representative explained why the singer felt compelled to help those displaced by the pandemic, announcing on Thursday, "The people at MGM have given Bruno Mars the rare opportunity to be able to continuously gig while he’s in the creative process of working on his next album."
The rep for the "Uptown Funk" singer went on, "With the closures across Las Vegas, Bruno wanted to show his appreciation to the amazing employees" because they "help make these shows possible."
Mars also said he hopes that the employees will be able to safely return to work soon so they can continue "having fun together."
CEO and President of MGM Resorts International Bill Hornbuckle spoke for all of his employees while expressing his sincere gratitude to the singer.
"We consider Bruno Mars as part of the MGM family and appreciate what he is doing to help our employees and their families during these uncertain times," said Hornbuckle.
He went on to reveal that the eligibility requirements for the funds were recently tweaked "to help as many employees as we can" and that Mars' generous donation "will help us expand our reach even further."
