Celebrity Activism Inspires Gratitude, Groans

The recent spate of celebrities choosing Africa as their charitable cause, including Madonna and Angelina Jolie, has drawn praise from aid groups but snickers from the media, reports Reuters.

“So many celebrities are jumping on the Africa bandwagon, like they descend on a hot restaurant—because it’s cool,” says Michael Musto, celebrity columnist for New York’s Village Voice.

But charities say that, fashionable or not, the current celebrity frenzy to support Africa shouldn’t be subject to media criticism.

“From my perspective, I can assure you there are hundreds of thousands alive today because of the work of all these celebrities,” says Leigh Blake, founder of Keep a Child Alive, a group for which Gwyneth Paltrow has campaigned. “Don’t put off the artists we can get on board.”