Actor-comedian Kevin Hart made a $25,000 donation for Hurricane Harvey relief and is asking some of his celebrity friends to do the same.
Hart donated to the American Red Cross on Sunday and said in a video on Instagram that he was starting a celebrity challenge to encourage others to donate. He called on Beyonce, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Jerry Seinfeld, among others, to join him in helping those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
“This is a serious matter,” Hart said in the video. “I think the people are in bad shape and they need help. I’m going to lead the charge and step it up in this way.” He also said he was praying for Houston.
Country music star Chris Young also announced on Twitter Sunday that he was starting an online fundraiser for the Red Cross and that he had donated $100,000 to it. By Monday around noon, the campaign had raised another $50,000, CBS News reported.
Harvey made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane and has stalled over southeast Texas, causing widespread flooding as it continues to dump several feet of rain over the area. Hundreds of thousands of people may end up in emergency shelters by the time the storm is over, CBS reported.
Musician Drake posted Monday that he and his manager were working with relief groups in the area and that he considered Houston to have been “a home” to him over the last eight years, CBS reported. Katy Perry also tweeted a link to the Red Cross donation page and asked viewers of MTV’s Video Music Awards to donate as she hosted the show Sunday night.
Other stars and public figures also used their Twitter pages to show support to Texas and victims of Harvey.