Scooter Braun, the celebrity talent manager responsible for finding Justin Bieber on YouTube, is partnering with Texas rapper Bun B to host a 17-network telethon for the survivors of hurricanes Harvey and Irma Tuesday night.
Starting at 8pm ET, ABC, CBS, NBC, Univision, MTV, BET, CMT, HBO and others will dedicate their feeds to the one-hour, star-studded special. The lineup reportedly includes Al Pacino, Justin Timberlake, Travis Scott, Dave Matthews, Jon Stewart, Chris Paul, Demi Lovato, Diddy, Leo DiCaprio, Justin Bieber, Drake, Reese Witherspoon, Jamie Foxx, Blake Shelton, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Sofia Vergara, Michael Strahan, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, George Clooney, Ellen DeGeneres, Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Dwayne Johnson, and Oprah—to name a few.
TMZ reports that a number of the celebs will be manning phones and taking calls from donors. Plus we can expect live performances via feeds from L.A., NYC, and Nashville.
Watch #HandInHand live on Twitter!
— Hand In Hand 🤝 (@handinhandfund) September 12, 2017
❤️ or retweet to show your support for hurricane victims.https://t.co/FtEEjCADuY
The benefit will also stream on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, making it about as accessible to human eyes as a televised event can be in 2017.
Hurricane relief is an issue that’s close to Bun B’s heart—the rapper has been working for weeks to get life-saving supplies and care to Houston’s underserved zipcodes. Add his relationship with the community to Braun’s expansive showbusiness network and you’ve got yourself one enormous fundraiser.
It’s sad to see that the average man got to people before federal organizations stepped in — Bun B #HurricaneHarvey pic.twitter.com/5HbBvIIbER
— attn (@attn) September 7, 2017
TMZ reports that Michael Dell (of Dell computers) and Verizon are “underwriting the entire event so 100% of the money will go to help the hurricane victims.” Local organizations like the Rebuild Texas Fund, Feeding Florida, and Feeding Texas have all partnered with the producers to make sure all money gets allocated to the communities most in need. On top of that, Dell has pledged to match the first $10 million in donations, and Apple is donating $5 million.
