Celebrities are lending their voices and opening their wallets to help with the Australian bushfire relief efforts. Millions have been raised after Chris Hemsworth, Elton John, and Kylie Jenner reportedly have announced they're donating a million dollars each. There's also the nude social media model who raised approximately a million dollars by offering naked pictures of herself. Anything to help those in need, apparently.
No-nonsense actress Jennifer Lewis is a multifaceted talent, so she literally used her booming voice to raise awareness. Jenifer took to Instagram to share a video of herself singing about disasters across the world. She wrote in the caption of the clip, "My heart breaks for Australia! The tragedy of climate change wakes me up in the middle of the night."
"Ask the people down south about Katrina, ask the people in Puerto Rico about Maria," she said in the video while playing the piano. "Do some research on the Arctic and the Amazon, then ask yourself what page am I on? Ask the people in Europe about the heat last June, the people in India about October's monsoon, polar bears, whales, koalas, they're almost gone." Then she breaks out in song about people asking themselves about what page they're on and Australia being on fire.
A fan wanted to give Jenifer an update just to let her know there was more information being released about the bushfires. "ABC NEWS is reporting that 24 Australians were arrested on suspicion of Arson," he wrote. "Not Climate Change.... But I love your movies!" His response triggered the actress because she unleashed a scathing response.
Jenifer put the wrong name in her reply (she was later made aware of this but it was too late) and told him, "Did I say it was arson? Shut the f*ck up and get the f*ck off my page. We are on the brink of war and you're talking about dumb sh*t. Check your soul fool. Look in the mirror. What are you gonna do when someone YOU love is killed by fire flood earthquake tornado car accident ANYTHING???"
"I'll tell you one thing," she added. "You won't be thinking about ABC CNN NBC or anything else. Go on. Think about the little babies- your mother your father your sister your brother- friends. People are suffering all over the world. Go on sit down and think about that and STFUUUP. This message applies to everyone else who has some negative stupid sh*t to say. Love Jenifer." Well, then. Some people are saying she was out of line. Do you think she overreacted?
View this post on InstagramNude Model Helps Raise $1Mill For Australian Fire Relief By Offering Naked Pictures
That's one way to help a cause.
The global response to the devastating fires that have swept across Australia has been overwhelming. Celebrities around the world have lent their voices to the cause, asking for the public to donate their time, money, and resources to help those who have been displaced Down Under. Twenty-three people have lost their lives due to the bushfire and over half a million animals have died.
A social media model, 20-year-old Kaylen Ward, decided to do her part. She told her followers that if they donated more than $10 to the charities of her choice—those directly connected to the Australian bushfire relief efforts—and followed up with a proven receipt, she would send them pictures of herself nude. According to Guardian, Kaylen has been working as a nude model since August 2019.
“I donated $1,000 myself,” she reportedly shared with Guardian Australia. “I had a substantial amount of followers, maybe 30,000 at the time, and I thought that a lot of my followers would pitch in and send in some donations for the wildfires.” In just four days, Kaylen and her naked body have helped raise approximately $1 million after her request went viral.
“I have a girl that’s doing the analysis on it and she’s calculated that I’m getting about 10 legitimate verified DMs per minute,” Kaylen continued. “And that’s only saying everybody donated at least $10, that’s not even calculating the average amount, because I’ve had donations of $5,000... I feel that the number is way beyond that.”
Kaylen was already using social media to pay her bills by selling her nude pictures to her loyal fans, so she thought she would use her talents for good. Of course, she's had to deal with critics along the way; Instagram deleted her page and she claims that anytime she tries to make a new one, it gets taken down. Kaylen also tweeted that her family disowned her and the guy she was dating won't speak to her anymore.
“It is a little bit overwhelming that I’m so vulnerable and everybody’s staring at me," the model added. "Especially because I’m naked on the internet right now. [But] I’m only one person and I’m helping so many other people, so I’m not the most important thing right now."
Rihanna Joins Social Media Outrage Surrounding The "Devastating" Fires Impacting Australia
Rih reacts to the Australian fire epidemic that's been burning throughout the country since the fire season began last July.
The fire spread currently engulfing Australia, the worst wildfires the country's seen in decades, has caused many across the world to react with an outpouring of love and well-wishes. The latest to join the social interaction is none other than the pop queen herself Rihanna, taking to her wildly-influential Instagram account to make sure the masses are aware of how serious it is.
"Devastating," is all the Anti hitmaker could say, followed by a tear-filled emoji and the #Australia hashtag to really make sure her message could be seen. The image she decided to share is almost unbelievable, showing the continent nearly engulfed fully in flames and dark matter. According to CNN, the numbers are pretty staggering to say the least. This past Sunday (Jan 5) saw around 2,700 firefighters on active duty, in addition to "3,000 army reserve forces and others with specialist capabilities to help fight the flames" as CNN details. As of today, 136 fires are burning across New South Wales, with 69 of those not even being contained according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (seen below).
Alongside Rihanna, our prayers are definitely with those currently facing the devastation currently going on in Australia. We'll be sure to keep you all updated on the latest.
LaMelo Ball Pledges One Month’s NBL Salary To Those Devastated By Australia’s Fires
Giving back to those in need.
For those of you who aren’t aware of what’s been going on Down Under, Australia has been devastated by a raging bushfire for a month. Some reports state that nearly 500,000 wildlife creatures have perished in the blaze, along with 17 people, to date. Images have circulated showing injured, displaced, and deceased animals as well as groups of people who have sought safety on the shores of beaches. Certain areas of Australia have declared a state of emergency.
Darrian Traynor / Stringer / Getty ImagesLaMelo Ball, a point guard for Australia’s Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League, is one of a handful of athletes who have pledged to help those affected by the tragedy. “It’s sad to see what is happening on the south coast of Australia,” LaMelo said in a statement. The baller has declared that he would give one month’s salary to those in need, however, a dollar amount wasn’t specified. “People have lost their homes and everything they own. My parents taught me to help out wherever I can, so this is my way of helping out.”
The Hawks team as a collective unit are joining together to aid in charitable efforts, and the National Basketball League’s commissioner shared that he was excited to see players come together for the greater good. “I want to acknowledge the contribution made by a number of NBL clubs already to support those affected by the terrible bushfires across Australia,” Jeremy Loeliger said. “As a leading sporting code, we have an obligation to support those communities affected and we will announce some further initiatives shortly.”
Check out a few photos from Australia’s bushfire below.
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