From Beyonce to Clooney, stars unite for
hurricane relief telethon
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[September 13, 2017]
By Piya Sinha-Roy
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A cadre of
Hollywood celebrities gave passionate speeches, moving performances and
hit the phones on Tuesday at a live televised telethon to raise funds
for the survivors and victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Celebrities including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio,
Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hanks, Beyonce, Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato
came together at the "Hand in Hand" telethon with inspirational songs
and stories of survival during the devastating disasters.
The hour-long telethon, which aired across broadcast, cable and digital
platforms, raised more than $14 million. During the show, Stephen
Colbert said Apple Inc had donated $5 million, which the comedian
quipped, "is also the price of the new iPhone."
Beyonce, appearing in a taped message, spoke of the urgent need for
supplies in her hometown of Houston after Harvey became the most
powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years, killing more than
60 people, displacing more than 1 million people and damaging some
203,000 homes.
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"During the time where it's impossible to watch the news without seeing
violence or racism in this country, just when you think it couldn't
possibly get worse, natural disasters take precious life, do massive
damage and forever change lives," Beyonce said.
"Natural disasters don't discriminate. They don't see if you're an
immigrant, black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Jewish or Muslim, wealthy
or poor ... we're all in this together," she said.
Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record, ravaged
several islands in the northern Caribbean, killing at least 43 people.
It barreled into the Florida Keys on Sunday, where 90 percent of homes
are believed to be demolished or heavily damaged.
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A combination photo shows singer, songwriter Beyonce Knowles in the
Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. on May 2, 2016 and actor,
producer George Clooney in Toronto, Canada, September 12, 2015.
REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz and REUTERS/Fred Thornhill/File Photos
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The telethon aired from New York, Nashville and Los Angeles, where
Stevie Wonder kicked off the event singing "Lean On Me" with a
gospel choir as stars such as Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Cher
clapped along while sitting at their phone stations. At one point,
Clooney and Roberts, sitting next to each other, jovially swapped
phones to speak to each other's callers.
From Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman
told the story of a young girl who survived by clinging to her
mother's lifeless body. R&B singer Usher and country music star
Blake Shelton sang "Stand By Me."
Tori Kelly and Luis Fonsi performed Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah,"
Dave Matthews performed his song "Mercy" and George Strait sang his
song "I Believe," joined by friends including Miranda Lambert and
Chris Stapleton.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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