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No-Oprah! Uber wealthy stars unleash torrent of backlash soliciting Maui donations from struggling Americans

September 1, 2023 | | Print Article

Billionaire talk show host Oprah Winfrey and actor Dwayne Johnson (“The Rock”) are facing backlash for asking others to donate to help Maui.

The drama began to unfold Thursday when the two published a video announcing the creation of a People’s Fund of Maui designed to distribute funds directly to those affected by the wildfires:

“We have created the People’s Fund of Maui that will put money directly in the hands of the people who need it, right now. So if you send a donation … that money is going to go to one of many residents who have been displaced in Maui. We guarantee it,” Winfrey said in the video.

“I know a lot of people out there … are just having a hard time trusting where the money goes. The fund that we created … is a clean direct from you, directly to their hands, and right away with some real immediacy, because as we’re finding — that you guys around the world know — with disasters like this, the No. 1 need is money,” Johnson added.

The video set off an immediate firestorm of backlash, with critics wondering why two wealthy people were asking others to donate when they could donate themselves. In fairness to Winfrey and Johnson, the two started their campaign with a $10 million donation of their own.

“Please don’t just tell me I just saw a billionaire standing next to a multimillionaire begging the average, everyday citizen for donations that can barely get by due to a real-life recession, living paycheck to paycheck, barely can pay rent, barely can put food on the table for our families, living in a real-life recession, in a country where our president is giving away our resources to another country for money,” one critic complained.

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“If you two don’t go take your Hollywood elite behinds to your other Hollywood elite friends and politician buddies that got millions like you do — and billions — and get all that money together and help out Maui, you are out your damn minds. Please don’t insult our intelligence like that,” the critic added.

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Another criticism they face is that the company hosting the fundraiser, Entertainment Industry Foundation, is reportedly problematic.

“There are 13 executives that get paid over $3 million and additionally there are 29 Individuals that also receive over $100,000 compensation. They have 98 total employees that leaves 69 employees with an average salary of $64,529,” one critic tweeted about the company.

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“The SURVIVORS get to apply for $1200 while divulging personal information and the management company gets to skim off the top some hefty salaries,” the critic added.

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Regarding Winfrey in particular, the backlash against her actually started earlier last month when she tried to visit a Maui shelter with a camera crew tagging along with her.

“A camera crew that was accompanying Oprah Winfrey as she visited Maui wildfire survivors inside a Hawaii shelter Sunday was turned away at the door due to a no-media policy inside, officials said,” the New York Post reported.

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“The famous television host and media mogul helped raise the spirits of Maui residents at the War Memorial Complex without the cameras capturing the moment due to the ongoing policy by county officials,” according to the Post.

That backlash was based in part on the belief that Winfrey was trying to virtue-signal and partly on reports that she’d been buying up (or “stealing”) land in Maui prior to the wildfires.

“Winfrey has lived part-time in Maui for the past 15 years and owns more than 2,000 acres on the Hawaiian island,” according to Newsweek.

See some of the backlash below:

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Vivek Saxena
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