On Saturday, actor and former Barack Obama adviser Kal Penn received a nasty tweet that said, “You don’t belong in this country you fucking joke.” Less than 24 hours, Penn had raised more than $250,000 for Syrian refugees in the name of that anonymous troll.
To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017
After receiving the comment while tweeting about Donald Trump’s immigration ban, Penn, who was born in New Jersey, received the bigoted message. In response, he used the crowdfunding site Crowdrise, and he created a page titled, “Donating to Syrian Refugees in the name of the dude who said I don’t belong in America.” Originally, his goal was to raise $2,500.
As of this writing early Sunday afternoon, the Harold and Kumar star had raised more than $253,000.
The response was overwhelming for Penn.
$30,000! So much love. I'm raising the goal to 50k, let's get there! This is incredible. Thank you! 🇺🇸✌🏽 https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/PjbSrW2I1S
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017
$15,000! You are amazing. Raising the goal, we are doing this! 🇺🇸 Also look at these amazing donor names! https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/pvmZ6OeRT8
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017
Props to the person who donated in Steve Bannon's name! Let's keep it going! https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi #RefugeesWelcome #resist 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/c2U1U4N348
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017
Turns out Penn isn’t such a joke after all.
H/T The Independent