Lady Gaga and Charlie Sheen appear to be heading up the slow celebrity response to the disaster in Japan. The death toll from the massive earthquake and resulting tsunami could potentially reach beyond 10,000?but why has Hollywood?s response been so tame?
It is callous and inappropriate to place a value on the severity of disasters. It simply shouldn?t be done. Sadly, though, the international community tends to use ?death tolls? as a barometer when it comes to how it should respond to them. Could that be why we aren?t seeing the same explosive reaction to this as we have to other recent disasters?
When the unthinkable happened right here in our own hemisphere in Haiti, the number of deaths was exponentially higher than in Japan?and celebrities jumped into action. There were concerts hastily arranged, relief funds set up, and call centers manned. As a result, the money and much needed attention began pouring into the Western half of Hispaniola at an unprecedented rate.
Sure, Haiti is far poorer and less equipped to deal with such an epic tragedy on its own. ?Ayiti? is also a neighbor of ours, whose people often become proud Americans through immigration.
Those factors were certainly at play. But here we have one of our greatest allies in the Asian world facing thousands of deaths and near nuclear disaster, and all we can do is send a few freakin? tweets?
Luckily we?ve got a few celebs who have decided to use their influence to steer love in Japan?s direction. Lady Gaga for example, has designed a wristband with the intention of sending all proceeds to the relief efforts. Nice work.
Also a player is Charlie Sheen, who despite his outlandish behavior apparently has a big heart. He has decided to use his newly pinned online influence to do some good as well. Portions of the ticket sales for his recently announced ?My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option? tour will go to the Red Cross.
I can?t help but think that some Japanese celebrities need to step it up. The one who immediately comes to mind is the actor who played ?Hiro Nakamura? from the show ?Heroes.? Maybe he could lead a Wyclef-like campaign to bring in some cash for the relief efforts.
I?m just sayin?.
What do you think about the celebrity response to the disaster in Japan?
Photos: www.wenn.com/News Pictures
Tags: Charlie-Sheen, earthquake, Japan, Lady Gaga, tsunamicelebrity magazine celebrity scandal celebrity style celebrity tattoos
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