Actor Kevin Hart donated $25,000 on Monday to the Red Cross Hurricane Harvey flood relief efforts in Houston, and he challenged some of his famous friends to do the same. (Note: The video contains foul language.)
“I’ve just been caught up to speed on everything that’s going on in Houston with Hurricane Harvey, and this s**t is unbelievable,” Hart said. “I think we’ve participated in a lot of challenges on the internet — some meaningful, some meaningless, but we’ve all done ’em.”
“At this point, I’m going to start a real challenge,” he continued. “I’m challenging a lot of my celebrity friends to follow my lead in donating $25,000 to Hurricane Harvey — to the Red Cross. At this point, this a serious matter. I think that people are in bad shape and they need help.”
READ MORE: Michael Moore predicts Donald Trump will be re-elected in 2020
Hurricane Harvey struck the southeastern Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane on Friday and has been churning over the state ever since. FEMA head Brock Long estimates upwards of 30,000 people might need to seek shelter as a result of the flooding.
The response to Hart’s challenge has been overwhelming, with big stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and singer Chris Brown contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Kim Kardashian and her sisters are pledging $500,000.
Brown especially was quick to donate, pledging $100,000 to the relief effort.
“We need to come together. I’m donating $100,000,” said Brown in a Twitter video. “It’s for everybody out there in Texas for the relief in everything. So, I accept the challenge, man, and I implore and encourage everybody else who can change and make a change for this to please donate and help out.”
Brown decided not to donate to the Red Cross, saying he’s “skeptical” about the organization.
Johnson also obliged, donating $25,000 to the charity.
WATCH: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson accepts the Hurricane Harvey challenges
Country singer Chris Young matched Brown’s donation, giving $100,000 to a GoFundMe page benefitting the Red Cross.
READ MORE: Ed Skrein pulls out of ‘Hellboy’ reboot after controversy
Houston native Beyoncé said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle that she was working with her team at BeyGOOD to put together a plan of action to help, and Canadian rap star Drake wrote on Instagram that he was doing the same.
Drake wrote that Houston “has truly been a home to me over the last 8 years.”
While only a few stars announced donations to flood relief efforts, many have used their massive social media followings to encourage people to give what they can.
Katy Perry, who boasts Twitter’s largest following at more than 103 million, urged viewers to donate while she hosted MTV’s Video Music Awards on Sunday night, and she tweeted a link to the Red Cross’ donation efforts.
— With files from The Associated Press
Comments