Sussexes statement about Californian wildfires

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

Meghan and Harry have released a statement in regards to the California wildfire via their Sussex.com website.

It reads:

”In the last few days, wildfires in Southern California have raged through neighborhoods and devastated families, homes, schools, medical care centers, and so much more – affecting tens of thousands from all walks of life.
A state of emergency has been issued.
If you feel compelled to help, here are some resources and ideas:
Support
Organizations such as José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, which has been a longtime partner of The Archewell Foundation, are serving meals to both first responders and victims of the fire.
CAL FIRE and LA Fire Department Foundation and others are working closely to support firefighters who risk their lives, bravely showing up in these high-risk environments to help save homes, families, and communities in need.
Animal Wellness Foundation is continuing to house and care for animals evacuated by the fires while Compton Cowboys is providing emergency transportation services for horses.
Airbnb and 211LA have partnered to provide free, temporary housing for those who have been displaced.

Baby2baby is providing essential supplies including diapers, clothing, hygiene products, and emergency kits to families in need.
All Power Books and many others are staying open for emergency use, offering supplies and water for pickup while working tirelessly to distribute essentials to those affected.

Open your home
If a friend, loved one, or pet has to evacuate and you are able to offer them a safe haven in your home, please do. And be sure to check in with any disabled or elderly neighbors to see if they need help evacuating.
Give back
Some families and people have been left with nothing. Please consider donating clothing, children’s toys & clothing, and other essentials. The American Red Cross is on the ground helping those in need.”

I would be genuinely really surprised if a PR adviser recommended saying something like: “She is so confident it’s going to do well and she will get the accolades she deserves for it, which will finally shut some people up. She can’t wait,”. That is just such a hostage to fortune.

@mainecooncatonahottinroof I seem to remember the PofW in Jimmy Choos at a food bank......

She hasn’t actually (people archive everything she wears and there’s various blogs with page of every time Kate has worn Jimmy Choo shoes - there’s a not a food bank visit there).

But so what if she does? How is rewearing a pair of shoes in her wardrobe (her Jimmy Choos for daywear are plain white pumps) “posing at a disaster site”?

And???

Did she pose for a group photo?

@mainecooncatonahottinroof She posed for a photo at a food bank pretending to lift a box wearing thousand quid shoes.....

I had just thought insurance was sky high but seemingly Montecito is actually uninsurable, because it’s so dangerous. Most insurance companies have left and there is a Gov scheme but that only covers to the value of $3 million. Many of the super rich just take the costs on, they are so rich they could rebuild.

“But has Montecito specifically found itself in the spotlight as an extraordinarily unsafe place, or as an extraordinarily expensive place, or both?
National fire officials seem to think it’s both, referring to Montecito as being in the heart of a “Goldilocks zone,” a term for a spot that can create perfect opportunities for fire and flood and other climate change-caused disasters to comingle and make life untenable”

https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/Montecito-homes-uninsurable-against-fire-17184446.php

Why on earth would Harry move his family to an area of the world that’s uninsurable because it’s at such a high risk of fire and deadly floods?
Not only that but he leaves his family at home for long stretches of time to travel round the world.
He won’t bring his children to the UK because it’s so dangerous, but set up home in a place ‘extraordinarily unsafe’

Its also their primary residence, it’s not as if this is just a holiday home they don’t spend much time in. Why put his family at risk? Why live somewhere where you can’t get insurance? That if your home is lost to floods or fire, you will have to take on the costs to rebuild. That’s if you are all lucky enough to escape harm free.

Maybe not Jimmy Choos, then. I don't know my shoes that well! But a pair of sparkly high heels. Or maybe I'm imagining it.

Maybe she doesn't have any cheaper ones?!

Can you share the photo?

I doubt Prince Harry has ever had to think about insurance in his life. Car insurance, house insurance, travel insurance: it will all have been done for him. I also don't think he moves in circles where the topic regularly comes up! Maybe once or twice in the context of the uninsurability of the crown jewels? Anyway.

As for Meghan, this Montecito house is the first one she's ever owned and been at least partly responsible for. Given how breathlessly excited she was about the rarified air up there but not at all the exclusivity of the zip code and the neighbors she'd be able to tell people she lives next door to, oh no, I can well imagine that in her eagerness she overlooked the need for insurance. In reality, as long as they're paying for enough insurance to cover whatever mortgage they have (that will have been a pre-condition to the loan, and we know they needed one), there'll be something. Whatever equity they have may or may not be covered.

Lol at a former actress calling them vulture tourist whilst not doing anything to help not even a donation especially when the Mayor said the following. She sure got her 5mins of fame.

Mayor Victor further said that the two did not come out for "publicity" and had in fact been there "anonymously" earlier in the day, adding, "No one knew they were serving food with masks."

And they didn't bring their own camera crew it is widely reported that Fox News 11 was there and thats who took videos and pictures.

Wonder if Justine thinks Jennifer Garner is a vulture tourist too after all she was also helping out and pictures taken and reported about in the media. Cleary not since she didn't mention her too.

LA and the surrounding towns are full of celebrities so of course there is a high chance there will be celebrities helping out.

Whether you donate money or give your time noone should be calling anyone a vulture tourist. Shame on anyone criticisng a person for helping out or giving money (regardless of how much they give). It'd be crazy if any organisation like World's Kitchen to say sorry we don't need your help, when there is a natural disaster as many hands as possible is welcomed.

And for those criticisng it's 2hrs away if you call up an organisation (one you have worked with before) and say hey how can we help and the response is we need help at x location then that is where you go if you can.

Oh my. This source (one of the 5 friends perhaps?) is really going out to bat for her! There are a group of people who really feel the need to defend her as the most bullied/hated woman on the internet. Tbf, there is A LOT of awfully hateful stuff written about her (MN is extremely tame compared to some stuff out there). I kind of respect that she's ploughing on regardless, haterz gonna hate etc. It would just be less tragic, and better for her, if she did it in a less hypocritical/sanctimonious/etc way and in a more, well, successful way.

I think this was the event you are thinking of? Kate visited the Sheffield base of Baby Basics charity to announce a successful campaign that she had led to get companies to donate items to baby banks run by Baby Basics UK, London-based Little Village and Aberdeenshire-based Abernecessities.

The 19 retailers taking part included John Lewis, M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury's, The White Company, Matalan, Trotters, Boden, Frugi, Mamas & Papas, Jojo Maman Bébé and Kit & Kin while DHL Express provided transport.

Kate was smartly dressed for the visit (she wore pointed toe stiletto pumps by Tabitha Simmons, apparently 🤣 ) and donned a Baby Basics apron to be photographed some of the donated goods. So yes, a planned photo op.

But this wasn’t a disaster site, obviously! It wasn’t even just a visit to highlight the work of the charity (Kate had gone to help out at Baby Basics before, and had worn a Boden dress and trainers). It was the announcement of a substantial donation campaign.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/kate-middleton-royal-visit-baby-bank-south-yorkshire-donations-a9653531.html

I doubt the unnamed source reporting Meghan's unwavering optimism and confidence in her cooking/lifestyle project is a friend! Whoever instigated this must have had a very good idea how it would land. And Meghan is neatly trapped. Validate it and it reeks of hubris. Deny it and it implies she has no faith in her work.

Looking back at old articles it seems they bought it for a bargain price from an oligarch involved in shady goings on who needed rid of it quickly. Not sure if it's known exactly how much they paid - I've seen 11 million quoted and also 14 million. Some current articles suggest it's now worth 30 million which might be due to their status, renovations they've done or just the market rising.

The appeal I assume is that it was large and grand enough to appear suitable for a titled family whose father/FIL is the King of England but still being a price they could afford.

I've occasionally browsed mega mansion listings in LA and something very grand in Bel Air for example might be anywhere from 80 - 200 million. I don't think they were in that bracket.

If they don't have insurance it would be a massive blow to them to loose it because even though they're rich they are not, for example, Oprah rich.

The threat of wildfire would worry me hugely but many Americans live daily with that threat as do people living where tornados or earthquakes frequently hit. It must be a normalised threat to some extent for people who are native to the area and would explain why Meghan felt it was fine. I'm a little surprised Harry wasn't more concerned given he's mainly lived in the UK but he does also have that risk taking element to his personality ( eg. choosing deployment to an active war zone in the army).

As you said there is cover through the California state plan up to $3m and the rest it on homeowners. So there is something. They can choose to buy where they like and decided its a risk they can afford and take.

You can say the same about people buying houses in the UK that are at a high risk of flooding, why do they take the risk. Sure they are likley to have expensive insurance covering them but I can imagine the same scenario where insurance companies stop providing insurance in those areas that are always flooding. They are a business after all, there to make money not lose it.

Lol at a former actress calling them vulture tourist whilst not doing anything to help not even a donation especially when the Mayor said the following. She sure got her 5mins of fame.

The dismissal of Justine Bateman as “lol a former actress” looking for 5 minutes of fame is revealing.

Justine Bateman spent 7 seasons as Mallory Keaton in one of the biggest and most acclaimed sitcoms in the world - Family Ties, where she played Michael J Fox’s sister. She continued working as a film and TV actress for the next few years until becoming a writer and director, successfully a number of films over the last few years. She’s also written at least two books.

If you are keen to remind us of Meghan’s own successful career as an actress, scornfully dismissing a woman whose career, let’s be frank, many actresses would kill for, is not a great look.

LOL at you LOLing at a far more successful and well-known actress than Meghan ever was!!!

How do you know she didn't do anything?? Maybe she just didn't make pious pronouncements and pose for a photo?

I'm not trying to remind anyone how successful Mehagn is.

What has Justine done recently? She is a former actress she might have produced shows too. Who knew her. I didn't so she isnt relevant. Haven't sent anything she has been in or produced in the past yr.

And you and lots of other posters here have numerous times scornful dismissed Megan's career so it's not a good look for you or others either. 😉

Well i didn't know who she was until she said that. So well-known? Not to me no

Would you not have looked her up first before you LOLed?!

And you and lots of other posters here have numerous times scornful dismissed Megan's career so it's not a good look for you or others either. 😉

I have never dismissed Meghan’s accomplishments, actually. I have always said that she was very successful to get to where she did in a cut-throat industry that chews people up and spits them out. She hasn’t had a fraction of Justine Bateman’s success, though

Jennifer Garner lives in the neighbourhood she was helping out in. She lost a friend and neighbour to the Palisades fire. You're not a "tourist" when you're helping out in your own neighbourhood.

To be clear. If, as the mayor is saying, H&M spent a lot of time helping out and were genuinely well-received (like Jennifer clearly was) then that's great. There's always need for help in these situations. But the video footage tells a different story, and there were some serious mis-steps (like posing for that photo) that make one give them a lot of side-eye.

Justine Bateman is saying what a huge amount of people are saying, it's not like she is a lone voice saying what she said,, the only reason her comment has gone viral is because she is well known and because she is in that Hollywood circle.

Which food bank event was this? I don’t recall her wearing Jimmy Choos at a food bank. I’m very curious as to what these shoes might be.

And fair play to her for saying it!