Pulse Bouncer KJ Morris Remembered by Friend: 'She Made Everyone Feel Comfortable'
Orlando shooting victim Kimberly “KJ” Morris was less than a week into her new job as a bouncer at Pulse nightclub, when she lost her life in the massacre, a close friend tells ET.
Steve Farina, a longtime friend of the 37-year-old Connecticut native, has paid tribute to his college buddy following the heartbreaking loss.
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Farina last spoke to Morris, one of 49 club-goers who died at the hands of a gunman over the weekend, two weeks ago over text messages.
“She said she was just getting settled in Orlando – she
moved there around a year ago. We were just reminiscing about old times and
catching up,” Farina told ET.
Friends for 16 years, the pair first met at Post University , where they instantly hit it off. Together, they helped form the campus’ first LGBT organization.
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“She always had this ability to make me more comfortable with myself,” said Farina. “She introduced me to the Broadway show Rent. For a talent show in school, we did ‘Light My Candle’. I was Roger and she was Mimi. Kim always wanted to get into entertainment.”
“She loved being out there,” he continued. “In college we were really into resident life. She was a resident advisor. She had the ability to get the best of people and make them comfortable.”
Those people skills helped Morris, a huge basketball fan, get into security work at clubs in Massachusetts, where she also worked as a drag king known as “Daddy K” at Northampton spot Diva’s.
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After spending time in Hawaii, Morris moved to Florida to assist her mother and grandmother, and started working as a bouncer at Pulse just last week.
“She started last Monday,” said Farina. “She was never scared to do security. Kim loved everybody – she looked at her work like a greeter. Like, ‘Hey come on in!’ She was a friendly face at the door.”
Diva’s nightclub will hold a tribute event in honor of Morris on July 2nd.
See President Obama speak about the shooting below.