Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are being hit with backlash after they asked fans to donate to the victims of the Maui wildfires despite them only donating $10 million, which is a small portion of their enormous wealth.
Another lady is letting Oprah and The Rock know how she feels about them
asking peasants for money to raise for Maui.Watch until the end ??? pic.twitter.com/dReRUE2EGZ
— I Meme Therefore I Am ?? (@ImMeme0) September 3, 2023
Winfrey And Johnson Ask For Donations
Last week, Winfrey and Johnson took part in a video announcing the People’s Maui Fund, which aims to raise money for those impacted by the wildfires. The caption of the video stated that every adult resident who had been “displaced by the wildfires in Lahaina and Kula” would be “eligible to receive $1200 per month to help them through this period of recovery.
“We are honored to start the campaign with $10 million and ask for your help in donating to those who have lost their homes,” the caption continued.
“How do we help?” Johnson said in the video. “You want to take care of the greatest need of the people, and that’s giving them money.”
Winfrey chimed in to say that they were looking forward to the help of “every person who called me and said, ‘What can I do?’ This is what you can do.”
Winfrey and Johnson also said that they consulted with “community elders, leaders and residents including Hōkūlani Holt-Padilla, Keali’i Reichel, Archie Kalepa, Ekolu Lindsey, Kimo Falconer, Tiare Lawrence, Kaimana Brummel, Kaleikoa Ka’eo, Brian Keaulana, Kaimi Kaneholani, Henohea Kāne, Paele Kiakona, Ed Suwanjindar, Shep Gordon and Jason Momoa.”
Check out their video for yourself below.
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Winfrey And Johnson Hit With Backlash
Forbes reported that Winfrey has a net worth of $2.5 billion, and that she owns at least 13 properties on the Hawaiian islands. This means that if she gave $5 million to the fund, it would be less than 1 percent of her overall wealth. As for Johnson, he’s reportedly the highest-paid actor in the world and has a net worth of $270 million.
Social media users were quick to point out that Winfrey and Johnson should be giving way more than just $10 million to this cause, according to Insider.
“Math ain’t mathing with this one. You guy’s literally have so much money…. You can donate it and make it back within a year,” one social media user commented, with another user adding, “I support Maui and the cause. But why are you asking us common folk who live paycheck to paycheck. We struggle to put food on table. Who helps us?”
“You have billions. You could donate $100 million and still be as wealthy as before donating. YOU give the money,” someone else wrote according to The New York Post. A fourth person commented, “Billionaire asking for money from the poor, what a joke.”
??BREAKING: After announcing that he was starting a fund from his money with Oprah, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is now asking for donations to assist the victims of the Maui fires in Hawaii as he surveys the area.
The $5 million dollars that him and Oprah gave was only the… pic.twitter.com/k7KJFqI0zt
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) September 3, 2023
Related: Oprah Blasted As A ‘Fraud’ For Decrying ‘White Privilege’ Despite Being A Billionaire Herself
Winfrey Doubles Down
Oprah has since posted a follow-up video thanking the “10,000 people who have personally donated” and saying that thousands of victims of the wildfire had signed up for assistance.
“It takes a village and I’m so proud to be a part of the village bringing aid to the Maui residents affected by the wildfires,” she said. “We are working as quickly as we can to verify them and get the money delivered.”
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Winfrey and Johnson have yet to address any of the backlash that they have received.
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