American actress Mandy Moore responds to her critics after being criticized for sharing a message in Los Angeles that launches a GoFundMe for her family.
Singer and actress Mandy Moore has responded to claims that she was not financially helping her family who lost everything in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires after she shared their GoFundMe on social media.
Moore told online critics to “F off” after hateful comments she received on an Instagram post she shared Fundraising for her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Griff and Kate Goldsmith.
Watch the video above: 10 people confirmed dead as fires continue to ravage Los Angeles
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The GoFundMe, started by Hilary Duff’s husband and musician Matthew Koma, has so far raised nearly A$300,000 for the couple who lost their Altadena home to one of the Los Angeles fires.
According to the fundraiser, the couple is expecting their first child within weeks.
Moore, 40, said Griff was a touring musician who lost all his instruments, and said the soon-to-be parents needed “support now more than ever”.
“Many have asked how to help during this unimaginably difficult time,” she said.
“Please consider donating and sharing to help them rebuild.”
But in response, Moore received comments that shamed her for participating in the fundraiser instead of donating some of her own money to the couple.
The “This Is Us” actress responded, saying “of course” she had helped the couple financially, reminding her followers that her home was severely damaged in the disaster.
“People ask if we are helping our families or crediting someone with an arbitrary amount of money that Google says isn’t helpful or compassionate,” she said.
“Of course we are. Our friend Matt started this GoFundMe and I’m sharing it because people have asked how they can help.
“We lost most of our lives in a fire too. Please F OFF. No one is forcing you to do anything.”
On Friday, Moore posted photos of the smoldering ruins of her home in Altadena, saying the main part of the house was still standing but “unlivable.”
“We lost our garage and our back house. Everyone we knew lost everything. Every house on our street is gone,” she wrote on Instagram.
Anthony Hopkins, Adam Brody, Leighton Meester, Anna Faris and Billy Crystal are among a growing list of celebrities who lost their homes or were affected by the Los Angeles fires.
The fires, which have devastated Los Angeles neighborhoods on the city’s east and west sides, have killed 10 people so far and destroyed nearly 10,000 buildings.
The Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles history, having consumed more than 13,750 hectares — about 137 square kilometers or two and a half times the land area of Manhattan — and reducing entire neighborhoods to ash.
The Palisades Fire is now 6 percent contained, while the Eaton Fire is still burning out of control, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A rapidly expanding fire that broke out Thursday near Calabasas, an affluent area home to many celebrities and gated communities, was 35 percent contained by early Friday, fire officials said. The so-called Kenneth Fire has spread to 388 hectares within hours.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman confirmed that an arson suspect was in custody but did not comment on the type of fire that broke out. Local media reported it was the Kenneth Fire.
Small fires also put a strain on overstretched firefighting resources. Fire crews were able to fully control the Sunset Fire at the top of the Hollywood Hills on Thursday, after flames tore through a ridge overlooking the Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday evening.
– With Reuters
