I remember having a conversation about celebrities and charity work with my sister.
I said something along the lines of “oh have you seen that Leonardo DiCaprio donated a large sum of money to such a such disaster?” (I think it was the 2004 Tsunami).
She rolled her eyes cynically and replied “Yeah. He’s only done it for the publicity”
I went on to say that I didn’t think he had, I think he just wanted to genuinely help and he has the means to be generous in his donations.
Sister then went on to say if he was that bothered he could have donated the same amount and stayed anonymous, or at least ask for it not to be publicly announced by the foundation.
Then I said, “well that is true. But then you’d get people saying, ‘why is it always the common people who end up donating to these causes? Where are the millionaires and celebrities, like Leonardo DiCaprio, who have the funds to actually donate to campaigns like this but seemingly don’t”
I also pointed out that celebrity endorsements bring publicity to charities which encourages other people to donate and also informs the public of their existence. A good example of this is that I had never heard of Smart Works before MM had patronised and promoted them. This is a charity that would have been really helpful for me as a woman who was made redundant when I was 22 weeks pregnant and hadn’t the means to afford new interview clothes for when I wanted to go back to work.
It feels like a double edged sword for celebrities, yet some are more maligned than others.