Advertisement

Diaz, Redford rally for oil spill telethon

Once again, a huge environmental catastrophe is set to unite artists.

Los Angeles: Once again, a huge environmental catastrophe is set to unite artists from various entertainment genres for a noble cause.
After the grand success of George Clooney`s `Hope for Haiti Now` telethon that raised a massive USD 57 million; celebrated talk show personality, Larry King will host Hollywood stars Cameron Diaz, Robert Redford, British pop star Sting and others for a two hour TV telethon on Monday to raise funds for Luisiana, the worst affected US state by the BP oil spill, a news website reported. The telethon to be aired on CNN`s "Larry King Live" will also feature guest stars such as teen pop singer Justin Bieber, comedian Kathy Griffin and `American Idol` star Ryan Seacrest. The telethon would use an innovative "two screen" approach for maximum public participation. Guests on this special show will interact with Larry and simultaneously take telephone calls and donations. The "second screen" involves online participation of people through social networking sites such as Facebook or by signing into a special "Social Suite" hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Money raised from the telethon will go to United Way, the National Wildlife Federation and the Nature Conservancy, relief organizations that are helping families, individuals and wildlife affected by the worst environmental disaster in American history. The charity event follows a plea by actor Ian Somerhalder to boost donations for the oil spill affected. "Coming from the entertainment world, I`m really shaken by how quiet Hollywood is. And I say that out of respect for my peers and colleagues, but I`m really bummed that no one is really coming up to help the situation. I think a telethon is a good way to funnel money into these channels. We need to set one of those things up to really paint a picture of exactly how much devastation is here," Somerhalder said. PTI