Sia, Rosie O’Donnell, and More Celebs Raise Big Bucks to Help the ACLU Fight Trump
Celebrities are sending more than tweets out into the world to show their disapproval of President Trump’s executive order to ban travel from seven countries and stop refugees from entering America. Some are also sending plenty of cold, hard cash.
Related: Celebs Share Their Immigration Stories
Large contributions from Australian-born singer Sia and other famous names helped the American Civil Liberties Union — the organization that challenged the immigration ban in court and won — raise $24.1 million over the weekend alone. The amount is six times what the ACLU usually raises in a year.
Sia helped with that total. The Australian singer offered to match donations up to — wait for it — $100,000.
help our queer & immigrant friends. send me your donation receipts for the @aclu & I will match up to $100K https://t.co/P9zVRH0WH0 #RESIST
— sia (@Sia) January 28, 2017
Trump’s longtime foe Rosie O’Donnell seconded Sia, pledging the same amount.
and i will match your 100K donation sia – #resist https://t.co/xkjVGeMWuR
— ROSIE (@Rosie) January 29, 2017
Producer Judd Apatow and musician Jack Antonoff (also known as the boyfriend of Girls star Lena Dunham) also got in on the action.
Okay @sia. We are all going to join you. I am in! https://t.co/XN8tqp7sPX
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) January 29, 2017
stand with me for immigrants and the LGBTQ community. i will be matching donations to the @ACLU up to 20k. tweet me your donation receipts
— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) January 29, 2017
Many people took at least Sia up on that generous offer, because she shared a screenshot of her receipt for the entire amount on Monday.
Together we raised over $300k for @aclu! Thankyou for participating in the recovery of our great home. Don't give up! #resist pic.twitter.com/ovtxwknJeR
— sia (@Sia) January 30, 2017
Just as impressively, actor Kal Penn — who notably worked at the White House during the Obama administration — raised more than $500,000 for Syrian refugees through a crowdfunding platform. Penn, whose parents emigrated from India, set up the page on Crowdrise after he received a hateful tweet.
Related: Celebrities Join the #DeleteUber Movement
“We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don’t belong in our own country, that America can’t be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world,” he wrote on a page cleverly named, “Donating to Syrian refugees in the name of the dude who said I don’t belong in America. We will turn their bigotry, along with the President’s, into love.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ashton Kutcher, and most everyone who took the stage at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards used their time at the podium to speak out against the policies of the new Trump administration.
Since Trump is famously sensitive to criticism (please see Saturday Night Live), he should probably stay away from movies while he’s in office. And TV shows. And music.
