The Ukraine War was featured on Friday night at the CORE Gala, where founder Sean Penn raised funds to respond to a nonprofit crisis in front of a powerful hall across the world, including President Bill Clinton. , Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garsett and stars Sharon Stone and Patrick Ste.
CORE sends teams to help and assist in the world’s largest disaster zones, including Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
In addition to raising money, Penn, an active leader in the organization, spent months in disaster zones and was recently warned to leave Ukraine, where he was making a documentary, because it was too close to the fighting.
When asked about his loyalty to these causes, Stone told him the hollywood reporter At the Los Angeles event, “Sean has a calling. This is different from the cause. He is a dedicated man in everything he does. Acting is his vocation and taking care of other people is his vocation. He’s a good man. He is a decent person who tries to serve at all costs. “I am very proud that he is my friend.”
In addition to continuing its fundraising mission, the evening also honored Dr. Sanjay Gupta, entrepreneur and philanthropist Frank Justra and producer Francesza Dutton for the time, money and work they each put into CORE.
The live auction raised millions for the organization, with one guest offering $225,000 for a painting by artist Elizabeth Chris Levine, and another offering $1 million for John Legend’s private home show. Penn even offered selfies for $1,000 donations.
Bill Clinton, John Legend and Sean Penn
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CORE
Speaking about his relationship with Penn, former President Bill Clinton told the audience: “He works well in everything, but it’s better to be warm and cool. You can discover how to do things faster, better at lower cost, save more lives, build more futures, and do things better than you would otherwise. ”
Penn himself remembers going to Haiti in 2010, when his team’s homes were destroyed by a storm and they couldn’t get help.
“I put everything on my credit card and we still didn’t have our 501C status and two people worked with me: President Clinton and [CAA’s] “Brian Lourdes,” Penn said. “They saved our donkeys from the faith because we haven’t tried yet. They saw what I didn’t. When I walked into this building today, I thought, “How the hell did this happen?”
There were several musical performances for fun. The legend captivated audiences with a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song.” There were also brief introductions by Josh Homay, lead singer of the Ukrainian band Dakh Daughters and Queens of the Stone Age.
Penn concluded the evening with a video of President Volodymyr Zelensky receiving cheers from hundreds of guests in attendance. He thanked Penn for drawing attention to his country’s plight and urged Americans to continue to support Ukraine in its struggle for freedom.
“We are resisting for 107 straight days. We can stop together. “Support Ukraine, because Ukraine supports the whole world,” said the leader. Fight for Ukraine, because Ukraine fights for the whole world, for democracy, for freedom, for life.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
