Beyoncé donates $2.5 million to fire relief and Meghan delays show launch due to the disaster

[January 14, 2025]  By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Weaker winds and intense firefighting efforts over the weekend boosted containment of fires burning in and around Los Angeles, but the effects of the blazes on the entertainment world continue.

The Oscar nominations have been delayed and the film academy announced Monday that it would cancel a gathering of nominees due to the fire. It's the latest shift to Hollywood's awards season and other projects are also being delayed. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, announced Sunday she would not launch a Netflix lifestyles program as planned this week and would wait until March.

Celebrities and entertainment organizations are pledging millions to help those who have been displaced or lost their homes, with Beyoncé directly millions to help families in the Eaton fire area.

While firefighters over the weekend were able to push the flames away from several populated areas, strong winds are expected to resume this week and last through Wednesday.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed, and 24 people have died as a result of the fires. More are reported missing and officials expect that number to increase.

Here's more on how the fires are affecting celebrities and the entertainment world.

Beyoncé, Netflix, Comcast donates millions to help wildfire victims

Beyoncé has contributed $2.5 million to a newly launched LA Fire Relief Fund created by her charitable foundation, BeyGOOD.

The announcement arrived via the BeyGOOD foundation Instagram account on Sunday. “The fund is earmarked to aid families in the Altadena/Pasadena area who lost their homes, and to churches and community centers to address the immediate needs of those affected by the wildfires,” the caption read.

Founded in 2013, the BeyGOOD foundation concentrates on economic equity, by “supporting marginalized and under-resourced programs,” according to its mission statement.

Last week, Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles shared that her Malibu bungalow was destroyed in the Los Angeles-area fires. “It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred happy place. now it is gone,” she wrote on Instagram. “God Bless all the brave men and women in our fire department who risked their lives in dangerous conditions.”

Netflix and Comcast NBCUniversal on Monday pledged $10 million each to organizations offering aid to victims of the LA-area wildfires.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said its donation will be split among five recipients including World Central Kitchen and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. Comcast Corporation Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts allocated $2.5 million of its $10 million cash commitment to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles’ ReBUILD LA initiative. The remainder of the money would go to other charitable foundations helping victims.

The Screen Actors Guild announced over the weekend it would commit $1 million to help members affected by the fires. While a lot of attention has been paid to stars who have lost homes, numerous less-famous industry workers have also lost homes or been displaced by the fires.

The nonprofit fundraising group Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has awarded $500,000 in emergency grants to help Los Angeles-area residents and first responders with meals, shelter, medical care, clothing and emergency financial assistance.

“These wildfires have left deep scars, but they’ve also ignited a powerful wave of support from Broadway to the West Coast,” said Robert E. Wankel, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Board of Trustees president and chairman and CEO of The Shubert Organization.

Beyonce accepts the award for best dance/electronic music album for "Renaissance" at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Meghan delays launch of Netflix series

The Duchess of Sussex has pushed back the release of her new Netflix series due to the wildfires that have ravaged the LA-area.

“With Love, Meghan” was set to debut Wednesday, but the streaming service said Sunday that it supports her request to push the premiere to focus on helping those affected by the fires.

The Duchess was born and raised in Los Angeles and now lives in Montecito, California, with Harry, the Duke of Sussex and their two children.

On Saturday, the royal couple visited Pasadena to hand out food and water to fire victims and thank first responders.

“With Love, Meghan” is a lifestyle program featuring the Duchess chatting with celebrity pals and demonstrating tasks like floral arrangements and baking. “I’ve always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it,” Meghan says in the trailer. The show will now drop March 4.

Composer Arnold Schoenberg's original work lost in fires

The publisher of Arnold Schoenberg’s works says original manuscripts and scores from the composer were lost in the Los Angeles wild fires.

Belmont Music Publishers, located in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, made the announcement Sunday.

“We have lost our full inventory of sales and rental materials,” the company said in a statement. “We hope that in the near future we will be able to 'rise from the ashes’ in a completely digital form. … There are some scores and performing materials for which we have digital scans.”

Born in Austria, Schoenberg moved to the U.S. when the Nazis took power and settled in Los Angeles, where he died in 1951.

Schoenberg gained attention for a 12-tone technique of composition and along with his students, including Alban Berg and Anton Webern, became known as the Second Viennese School. Among his most-known works are “Ewartung,” “ Gurre-Lieder,” “ Verklärte Nacht ” and “Pierrot lunaire.”

Sundance Film Festival will continue as planned

Many Hollywood events have been postponed and canceled due to the ongoing fires in the Los Angeles area, but the Sundance Film Festival is still planning to move forward with the 11-day event next week in Park City, Utah.

In a letter Monday to registrants from Southern California, the Institute’s CEO Amanda Kelso and festival director Eugene Hernandez wrote that, “we may mourn, but we also know it is important to carry on.” Those who received the letter were also invited to share more about how they’ve been affected by the fires.

Michelle Satter, a founding director of the Sundance Institute and its artists programs, wrote on social media last week that she lost her home in the Palisades fire. Satter is among those being honored at the festival’s opening gala on Jan. 24.

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Entertainment Writers Maria Sherman, Mark Kennedy and Lindsey Bahr and Writers Alicia Rancilio and Ron Blum contributed to this report.

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