Stars pick up phones for storm relief
NEW YORK Urged on by dozens of stars who turned out to sing, tell stories and plead for support for hurricane victims in a one-hour televised benefit, organizers said more than US$44 million was raised Tuesday and donations are still being accepted.
With Stevie Wonder singing Lean on Me and Usher and Blake Shelton joining for Stand By Me, the message was clear: Americans were being asked to help those whose lives were upended by wind and rain.
Justin Bieber, George Clooney, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Lupita Nyong ’o, Jay Leno and dozens of others sat at phone banks to accept donations.
Beyoncé, Will Smith and Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson sent in taped pleas for support during the event, shown on more than a dozen television networks and online simultaneously.
Originally conceived as a benefit for victims of hurricane Harvey in Texas, the Hand in Hand telethon was expanded to help people in Florida and the Caribbean devastated in recent days by hurricane Irma.
“We’re here to raise money, lift some spirits,” said Jamie Foxx, standing with actor Leonardo DiCaprio. “When tough times hit, this is who we are. We’re compassionate. We’re unstoppable.”
Hollywood talent manager Scooter Braun, who organized the event with Houston rap artist Bun B, said that after the show, all the celebrities manning the phone banks stayed to take more calls.
“No one left,” he said. “Everyone just kept answering phones and answering phones and answering phones. People want to give. Like, people want to help. And you don’t have to be a celebrity to do it.”
For many of the stars, the storms hit close to home.
“I have family in Puerto Rico, I have family in Miami. I’ve been on the road. I haven’t been able to be there. So you can imagine how it’s been,” Despacito singer Luis Fonsi said after the show, adding that all his family, including his wife and young children in Miami, survived the storm and are safe.
The quick-moving show took a form familiar to viewers since a sad template was set after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Celebrities requested donations, told heartwarming survival stories involving people caught in the storm and sang songs. Several organizations will benefit, including the United Way and Save the Children.
Stages in Los Angeles, New York and Nashville, Tenn., were filled simultaneously, although the night’s final performance — a tribute to Texans by George Strait, Robert Earl Keen, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert and Lyle Lovett — originated from San Antonio.
Fonsi and Tori Kelly sang Hallelujah together. Dave Matthews picked his guitar from a studio above New York’s Times Square, and Darius Rucker, Brad Paisley, Demi Lovato and CeCe Winans sang The Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends. Wonder, backed by a gospel chorus, opened the show with the Bill Withers classic.
ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, HBO, MTV and BET were among the networks carrying the program, which was also streamed online.