Sadie Robertson Stars in New Film About Columbine Shooting: ‘Bringing Light Into a Really Dark Situation’

Sadie Robertson, the teenage star of A&E’s popular “Duck Dynasty” reality show, is starring in a new movie about Rachel Scott, the first victim of the 1999 Columbine high school massacre.

Scott, whose tragic death has been the subject of dozens of news accounts, books and documentaries over the last 17 years, was shot four times amid the rampage that claimed the lives of 12 students and a teacher, plus the two perpetrators — Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.

The teenage girl, a devout Christian, left a legacy of compassion for others and frequently shared her faith.

In an interview with The Church Boys podcast Friday, Robertson told the hosts that the movie, “I’m Not Ashamed,” is not really about Scott’s death but “about her life.”

In the film, which opens Oct. 21, Robertson plays Scott’s real-life cousin, Charity.

Listen to the full 12-minute interview (starts at the 32:52 mark):

When asked what drew her to the role — her first one ever (she appeared in “God’s Not Dead 2,” a faith-based film that shot after "I'm Not Ashamed") — Robertson said she wanted “to be a part of the message.”

“Everybody has heard of the Columbine shooting and it’s a tragedy, but Rachel Scott’s story is — even though she did pass away — her story is not about her death, it’s about her life,” Robertson said. “And it’s kind of bringing light into a really dark situation.”

Robertson, who was only 2 years old at the time of the shooting, added that “always hearing about [the Columbine tragedy] but never really knowing the full story and now getting to dive into the story, there’s a lot to it” — all of which has left a lasting impact on her.

For the young star, the story's most surprising element was “how much light" the Scott family has shined.

“A lot of times, the big news only captures the darkness and the bad parts of the story and the terrible things that happen, but they forget to go back and capture the good things that happened,” Robertson said. “So I think, to me, how many cool things came from it ... even after her death, how many people have been brought to life as a Christian because of her story.”

Robertson added that Christians “have to flip our mindset[s] to not think of darkness as dark but seeing darkness as something that needs to have a light to shine on it."

“That just surprised me," she said, "how much light there actually is in that story.”