Last night made television history with star-studded Hand-in-Hand telethon organized to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.
The hour-long event began when the legendary Stevie Wonder encouraged working together regardless of race, religion, political affiliation or sexual preference to help those devastated by the storms. Before performing a rendition of the classic Bill Withers tune “Lean On Me,” he took a jab at climate change deniers saying, “Anyone who believes there’s no such thing as global warming must be blind or unintelligent. Lord, please save us all.”
Beyonce, a Houston native, gave a passionate pre-recorded segment:
During a 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. 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. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Third Ward or River Oaks, we’re all in this together. Seeing everyone of different racial, social and religious backgrounds put their own lives at risk to help each other survive, restored my faith in humanity.
The event spanned multiple networks and online. The star-studded telethon which filmed in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, and San Antonio raised over $44 million and included appearances from Oprah Winfrey, Cher, Justin Timberlake, Billy Crystal, Kerry Washington, Stephen Colbert, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Dwayne Johnson, Beyonce, and many more.
