Celebrities are using social media to support good causes

LOCKDOWNS and quarantines have sent the time spent on social media skyrocketing. From OnlyFans to TikTok, several celebrities – like the actor Michael B. Jordan ( far right) or the French dancer Fauve Hautot – not to mention brands, are seizing the power of social media to launch initiatives in aid of good causes. Besides being a good way for them to offer support at this difficult time, it’s also a good way of boosting their image.

Jordan is People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2020, and the star plans to put his newfound status to good use.

The news could almost have gone unnoticed in his interview with Jimmy Kimmel on Nov 18, and yet Jordan nonchalantly announced that he was signing up to the OnlyFans website. The controversial social network, often considered to favour pornography, gives uses access to content by paying to follow other users.

The Creed II star joked about the mustache he grew during quarantine: “His name is Murphy. We call him Murph for short.” He then continued, while laughing: “Got an OnlyFans coming soon. ... Eating fruit, all types of crazy stuff, it’s going to get wild.” Kimmel then quipped that Jordan could probably make “US$250,000 (RM1.02 million) a year” if his moustache had an OnlyFans account. And what seemed at first to be a joke, ultimately turned out to be true: “I’m actually going to start one,“ clarified Jordan. “But like all the proceeds I want to go towards a barber school because during the quarantine, you know, there’s been so many businesses and schools that shut down.”

Between marketing and philanthropy

More and more positive initiatives supporting good causes and charities are springing up on social media. Recently, French coffee brand Carte Noire enlisted the celebrity and dancer Hautot to launch its own challenge on the social networks Instagram and TikTok.

The ‘Challenge Carte Blanche’ aims to support the association Sport dans la Ville [Sport in the City]

– which works for the social and professional inclusion of young people – by funding dance classes.

Similarly, as the Covid-19 pandemic takes its toll on mental health, sneaker brand Vans took action with its Vans Checkerboard Day, a global initiative championing the power of creative expression.

This year’s event included a TikTok challenge on Nov 19, calling on people to share the creative activities that help their well-being.

This year, the brand announced it would donate a collective US$1 million (RM4.08 million) to 10 charities worldwide, that work to promote creativity as a resource for coping with the stressors that impact mental health and wellbeing. – AFP-Relaxnews