[BigBrotherChatII] Star-Studded, Unifying ‘Hand In Hand’ Telethon Raises Over $44 Million For Those Affected By Hurricane Harvey

 

  FANTASTIC responses.and I am sure the figures will continue to rise.

I wonder how many of the groups members have been affected by these ?

cg

Star-Studded, Unifying 'Hand In Hand' Telethon Raises Over $44 Million For Those Affected By Hurricane Harvey

by Dino-Ray Ramos

September 12, 2017 8:42pm

UPDATED with latest total: The biggest names in Hollywood banded together tonight for Hand In Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief. The event spanned multiple networks and online. The star-studded telethon which filmed in New York,  Los Angeles, Nashville, and San Antonio raised over $44 million and included appearances from Oprah Winfrey, Cher, Justin Timberlake, Billy Crystal, Kerry Washington, Stephen Colbert, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Dwayne Johnson, Beyonce, and many more.

The hour-long event began when the legendary Stevie Wonder encouraged working together regardless of race, religion, political affiliation or sexual preference to help those devastated by the storms. Before performing a rendition of the classic Bill Withers tune "Lean On Me," he took a jab at climate change deniers saying, "Anyone who believes there's no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent. Lord, please save us all."

Beyonce, a native of Houston, gave a passionate pre-recorded segment, saying, "During a time where it's impossible to watch the news without seeing violence or racism in this country, just when you think it couldn't possibly get worse, natural disasters take precious life, do massive damage and forever change lives." She added, "Natural disasters don't discriminate. They don't see if you're an immigrant, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Jewish or Muslim, wealthy or poor. It doesn't matter if you're from Third Ward or River Oaks, we're all in this together. Seeing everyone of different racial, social and religious backgrounds put their own lives at risk to help each other survive, restored my faith in humanity."

The telethon generally stayed clear of politics and controversial moments like Kanye West's "George Bush doesn't care about black people" comment during the 2005 Hurricane Katrina benefit concert. Instead, there was an overwhelming, genuine focus on unity and encouraging of help to those affected by the hurricane.

During the telethon, Colbert broke the news that Apple donated $5 million while Jimmy Fallon said that Albertsons and Merck donated $1 million on top of that. Houston Rockets point guard Chris Paul, who was on hand answering phones, said NBA Players Association not only donated $500,000 but said they would match any professional basketball player's donation up to $20,000.

The telethon also included footage from Houston as it tried to rebuild from the aftermath of Harvey and more encouraging, heartfelt words and appearances from celebrities including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Julianne Moore, Bruce Willis, Sofia Vergara, Justin Bieber, Taraji P. Henson, and more. The phone bank itself was a who's who of Hollywood. Lupita Nyong'o was active on social media, documenting the event.

Texas native Selena Gomez gave a tearful speech saying "no matter who we are, the differences we have suddenly did not seem to matter. Since that day, we have joined together — neighbor helping neighbor, without stopping to think about race, religion or anything else."

Matthew McConaughey, who is also a Texas native, took to the stage and said that we "can't bring back what they lost, but we can help them know where to take the next step and provide some solid footing for them to place their next foot. A path to stability. To a place where they can rebuild."

In addition to the performance by Wonder, many other musicians and artists collaborated to give stirring, emotional performances. Usher and Blake Shelton did a duet of  "Stand By Me" from Nashville while Luis Fonsi and Tori Kelly sang a soulful "Hallelujah." Brad Paisley, Demi Lovato, Darius Rucker, and Cece Winans performed "With a Little Help from My Friends" and George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett approriately closed the evening with a performance of "Texas" and "I Believe" from San Antonio.

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Posted by: C G <ceegee2006@yahoo.com>

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