Celebrities make splash with California drought awareness

LOS ANGELES—From drought-shaming to eco-boasting, willing or not, celebrities are playing a role in raising awareness about California’s debilitating drought.

Stars whose homes boast lush, green lawns at a time when residents have been asked to cut back on water may be drought-shamed on social media. Meanwhile, Eco-conscious entertainers hoping to take the lead on water conservation talk proudly of their drought-friendly gardens.

“We’re all in this together,” said actress Wendie Malick, who relies on well water at her home in the Santa Monica Mountains. “Unfortunately, it had to come to this crisis moment to get us all on board.”

Celebrity enclave Beverly Hills, where many lawns remain bright green, recently approved new water restrictions and penalties for violating them. Enforcement is set to begin this month.

Tony, beachside Malibu has long had water restrictions in place, according to the city’s environmental programs specialist, Casey Zweig. While she says the city would never engage in drought-shaming, it does offer a website where residents can anonymously report their water-wasting neighbors. Zweig said her team visits the offending properties personally.

Offenders in the city, though, have multiple chances to make things right before facing fines, Zweig said.

Barbra Streisand, a past drought-shaming target, said she and husband James Brolin have let most of the lawns go brown at their Malibu compound. The couple is also working with a water-reuse company to install a graywater system and rainwater cisterns, she said, “should California be lucky enough to get some rain.”

Cher, another Malibu resident, has also let her grass go brown and has talked about the water shortage on Twitter. In a post last month, she complained California used fresh water for fracking.

Kelly Osbourne drought-shamed herself on Instagram by sharing her guilt over taking a bath and saying she planned to re-use the water.

And some celebs are taking to television with public service announcements about drought conservation, including Conan O’Brien and Lady Gaga.

Malick, who serves on the board of the Environmental Media Association, said “making green cool” is part of the organization’s mission statement.

“If people emulate those that they’re fans of... why not show them some behavior that is great for the planet?” she said.