When it comes to mega disasters, like the ones we’ve seen lately in hurricanes Harvey and Irma, people of all backgrounds have the spirit to come together as one. That was the case last night when many mega stars banned together to help raise a whopping $44 million for survivors of the recent hurricanes through the nationwide telethon, Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief. The event was organized by legendary rapper, Bun B. (of UGK) and by MBL and NHL League network host, Scott Braun.
Many heavyweight celebs, such as Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson, Usher, Will Smith, Beyonce’, Cher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Fox, Robert Dinero, Gail King, Lupita Nyong’o, Billy Crystal, Keri Washington, Bruce Willis, DJ Khaled, Julia Roberts, Nicki Minaj, P. Diddy, Tom Hanks, and many more gathered underneath one roof (or via video telecast) to take calls and raise money for hurricane survivors from Irma and Harvey.
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Stevie Wonder kicked off the telethon with a much needed wake up call to Donald Trump’s opinion of global warming being a “hoax.” As many of us know, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Change Agreement- a historical pact of 200 countries (which Obama initially decided to have the U.S. join in 2015) that required each country to significantly invest in practices that will greatly reduce the warming of the planet. The current catastrophic weather disasters are what most scientists say are the results of global warming and will continue to get worse if the countries do not take steps to curve it.
Stevie Wonder Speaks Truth
That’s where Stevie Wonder’s telethon speech comes into play. You see, one thing we have always respected about Stevie, is that he’s always lived by a quote he once said: “Just because a man lacks use of his eyes, doesn’t mean he lacks vision.” That vision has made him unafraid to speak truth whenever he feels the world needs to hear it. Last night was his opportunity to do just that as he opened up the telethon to perform “Lean On Me.” Just before starting the song, a solemn Stevie said this:
“When love goes into action, it preferences no color of skin, no ethnicities, no religious beliefs, no sexual preferences and no political persuasions, it just loves. As we should began to love and value our planet and ANYONE who believes that there’s no such thing as global warming, must be blind or unintelligent.”
Watch the full clip of Stevie’s performance below…
The first, and hopefully not the last, call to action on climate change at tonight's #HandInHand telethon. pic.twitter.com/LeGpBfESuQ
— Matt Wilstein (@mattwilstein) September 13, 2017
Experts say that both hurricanes, which have mainly devastated major cities in Texas, Florida, South Carolina and some parts of Georgia, could cost between $150 billion and $290 billion.
Within the first hour of the telethon, many gracious citizens had already called in to donate $14 million and counting. The telethon continued through the night and as we mentioned earlier, raised $44 million. Check out some of the other celebs who helped answer phone lines and/or spoke, or performed at the live fundraiser below…
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