Celebrities came in full force for Red Nose Day, raising over $42 million

Kylie Mar
·Host & Producer, Yahoo Entertainment

Celebrities came out in full force Thursday on NBC for Red Nose Day, a campaign to raise money to lift children out of poverty in the United States and the rest of the world.

The festivities began on a special celebrity edition of American Ninja Warrior, where Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin and music artist Ne-Yo slayed the course, making all five challenges look easy before flying up the warped wall. In the end, ANW raised a total of $185,000. And over on Hollywood Game Night, things were getting pretty competitive between Kelly Clarkson and practically everybody else.

Clarkson was hands down the most enthusiastic player in every game, and she was very entertaining. Team Kelly won, and Jane Lynch’s celebrity guests helped raise a total of $150,000.

The third and final event was the Red Nose Day Special, hosted by Chris Hardwick, where he tricked Olivia Munn into supporting the event in a way that she wasn’t totally stoked about. “Last year we raised a little over $30 million. This year, if you can help us raise $40 million, if we hit that number, I’m gonna hit that glowing red button up there, and drop Olivia to the icy depths below,” Hardwick told the audience. Munn interrupted, saying, “Chris, this isn’t what we discussed, at all. You were calling, and said, ‘Hey, ol’ buddy, ol’ friend, why don’t you come help out at Red Nose Day, maybe present. And now I’m sitting on top of a thing of water that smells like feet and cantaloupe.”

Fortunately, Munn was saved by Anne Hathaway not too long later. The Oscar-winning actress told Hardwick, “What do you need? I’ll do anything.” Her statement immediately backfired when Hardwick had the brilliant idea of replacing Munn with Hathaway on the dunk tank. But there was only one way for Munn to descend — by being dunked. The goal of $40 million was finally reached, which meant that Hathaway would meet the same fate.

The Red Nose Day Special aired Thursday at 10 p.m. on NBC. Watch clips and full episodes of The Red Nose Day Special, American Ninja Warrior and Hollywood Game Night for free on Yahoo View.

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