Entertainment celebs have organized successful fundraising efforts and made some whopping personal donations to provide relief for Texas residents devastated by Hurricane Harvey. One comedian called out his fellow entertainers, a talk show host stepped up to a pro football star’s challenge and actors made jaw-dropping personal contributions. The number of celebrities who are helping out grows as the toll from Hurricane Harvey climbs. To join these celebrities, you can make a $10 donation to the Red Cross by texting REDCROSS to 90999.
Comedian Kevin Hart was the first major celebrity to make a public donation, Kevin Hart took to Instagram Monday to launch what he called the Hurricane Harvey Relieve Challenge and called out fellow actors and comedians to each pledge $25,000. He pledged $50,000. His fundraising efforts have been succeeding with almost $1 million raised to date.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was one of the first celebrities to respond to Hart’s campaign. He offered $50,000.
Nicki Minaj announced she’d donate $25,000 when she re-posted Kevin Hart’s public video plea on Instagram.
Singer Chris Brown said he would donate $100,000 for hurricane relief in Texas.
The producer and social-media star Dj khalid announced in a video featuring his adorable son, Asahd, that he was meeting Hart’s challenge with a $25,000 donation.
The rapper TI also pledged $25,000 in response to Hart’s challenge.
A campaign launched by Houston Texans All-Pro Linebacker J.J. Watt reached $200,000 within the first two hours. Watt’s fundraising effort has become the most successful so far with more than $5.6 million raised to date.
Ellen DeGeneres pushed Watt closer to his donation goal of $10 million when she teamed up with Walmart to make a $1 million contribution.
Miley Cyrus was in tears on “The Ellen Show” after DeGeneres announced Cyrus would donate $500,000.
Sandra Bullock gave a $1 million personal donation to the Red Cross: “There are no politics in eight feet of water,” she said. “There are human beings in eight feet of water.”
Leonardo DiCaprio continued his string of hefty donations to aid victims of natural disasters. The actor donated $1 million to the United Way Harvey Recovery Fund.
The Kardashian/Jenner clan announced a joint personal donation to hurricane victims. Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kris, Kylie and Kendall will give a total of $500,000.
Country singer Chris Young, who has a house in East Texas, has raised over $300,000 through his GoFundMe page. The singer aims to raise $500,000 in relief efforts.
Demi Lovato, who was raised in Dallas, donated $50,000 to the Houston Food Bank. She also joined with DNCE, Nick Jonas and Philymack in starting a Crowd Rise campaign and asked fans to contribute to their relief effort.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez each gave $25,000 and asked fans to make donations to the Red Cross.
Bleachers and Fun musician Jack Antonoff pledged to match donations up to $10,000 for the Montrose LGBT Center in Houston, while Orange Is the New Black actress Ruby Rose promised to match Antonoff’s donation and also donate $10,000 more to Houston’s local LGBT center.
Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga did not disclose how much they gave when announcing that they’d donated. Other super-celebs with Texas connections are stepping up with undisclosed contributions.
Houston’s most famous native daughter, Beyoncé, has said she is working with her BeyGood charity team and her Houston pastor to decide the best way to provide relief to residents.
Selena Gomez encouraged her 51.7 million followers to join her in giving to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund established by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. The singer was born in Texas.
Rapper Drake took to Instagram to say he is working with local relief groups “to aid and assist the people of Texas in any way we can and in the most immediate way possible.” His earliest concerts were in Houston.
Iconic singer Cher, who has lived in nearby Galveston and Burleson, said she will donate to help animal rescue groups in the area.
Country band Lady Antebellum pledged to donate the proceeds from merchandise at their show in Dallas to help Houston.
