Some celebrities use their platforms for good. It makes sense that with stars being so wealthy, they give back to the world. Celebrities support an array of causes, from animals right to gender equality to world hunger relief. Some of your favorite stars genuinely care about the world around them and are incredibly humble.
Besides donating to and founding nonprofit organizations, celebrities also use their performances and even their attire to display what matters to them. For example, Beyoncé's 2016 SuperBowl performance and Megan the Stallion's 2020 Saturday Night Live championed the Black Lives Matter Movement. Lady Gaga made a statement with the meat dress she wore to the 2010 VMAs to protest the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy regarding the governmental restrictions placed on the rights of gay soldiers. Here are ten celebrity activists and the causes that matter to them.
10 Reese Witherspoon Supports Victims Of Sexual Harassment
In 2018, lawyers Roberta Kaplan and Tina Tchen co-founded the Time's Up legal defense fund, a charity geared towards supporting victims of sexual harassment. This charity began as a response to the Weinstein effect and the #MeToo Movement. Many women celebrities, including actress Reese Witherspoon, launched the Time's Up initiative.
9 America Ferrera - Vitamin Angels
America Ferrera shared a sweet photo with her babies Sebastian and Lucia while reflecting on the challenges of motherhood over the last year to raise awareness for the global charity, Vitamin Angels. She partnered with the charity on Mother’s Day to share their work helping at-risk pregnant women and children in the U.S. and around the world gain access to the essential nutrition they need, and to encourage her followers to donate to the cause.
8 Shakira Cares About Impoverished Communities
In 2007, Columbian singer Shakira was already a UNICEF Goodwill ambassador before she staged four fundraising concerts in Buenos, Aires, Mexico, and New York City for the nonprofit she co-founded. América Latina en Acción Solidaria (ALAS), translated as Latin America in Solidarity, supports impoverished communities throughout Latin America. Shakira also has her charity called Pies Descalzos Foundation, in which she donates and helps raise money.
7 Orlando Bloom Cares About The Protection Of Children's Rights
In 2018, UNICEF reported that Orlando Bloom met children working in Bangladesh slums. Bloom starred in a heartfelt episode of Tales By Night which chronicled the plight of these children. The episode highlights 10-year-old children working in unsafe aluminum and balloon factories for 12-hour days. Since 2007, Bloom has been involved with UNICEF and has been a Goodwill Ambassador since 2009.
6 Bono Cares About Aids Prevention
U2's Bono is one of those celebrities known for giving back to his local community, but he also cares about the wellbeing of the entire world. For example, Bono donates to the Apparel Lesotho Alliance for Africa (ALAFA). ALAFA's mission is to provide prevention and treatment services to the mainly 45,000 Basotho workers in the industry. An estimated one-third of them have HIV.
5 Angelia Jolie Supports Refugees
Angelina Jolie was the second-highest earning actress in 2020, and she uses her income to fund many causes, such as The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It's a UN agency to help and protect refugees, particularly those forcibly displaced and stateless. Jolie has been a special envoy or representative of the UN since she was in her early 20s and has visited refugee camps.
4 Christina Aguilera Cares About Global Hunger
People reported that Christina Aguilera believes that it is unacceptable for children to starve. While one of Aguilera's claims to fame is her powerful vocals, she is also very charitable. Since 2009, Aguilera has been the spokesperson for Yum! Brands' World Hunger Relief Effort. She traveled around the world to feed children in need. Aguilera, who is half-Ecuadorian, took a trip to Ecuador, and she also visited a Columbian family of refugees who lived in one room without running water.
3 JAY-Z Cares About Socio-Economic Hardships And Higher Learning
The Shawn Carter Foundation, founded in 2003, helps individuals facing socio-economic struggles further their education in higher learning. The program assists anyone 25 years, or younger enrolled in a two or four-year undergraduate program receive scholarships so long as their household income is under 75,000 a year. The foundation also provides college prep and professional development.
2 Regina King Fought For Diversity And Gender Equality
Regina King vowed that she would hire 50% of women in anything she produced during her acceptance speech at the Golden Globe Awards for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. During her One Night in Miami directorial debut, she couldn't keep her promise as the pledge was challenging to uphold. However, she tried as best she could with over 50% of the crew not identifying as cis white males.
1 Kim Kardashian Dedicates Her Time to Prison Reform
Kim Kardashian has been trying to bring national attention to overlooked cases for the past few years. Kardashian has helped to exonerate people, particularly many women. In 2019, she helped free a 64-year-old woman in prison for 19 years on a nonviolent drug charge. In 2020, she began working with R&B singer Monica to release her ex, rapper C-Murder from prison, who Monica believes is innocent and didn't commit murder.