So when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Oprah Winfrey got up on their high horse and started telling the American people to donate money to the victims of the Maui fires, it certainly rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. And rightfully so. After all, both The Rock and Oprah have a combined net worth of over $2.8 billion.
Well, Oprah is absolutely shocked that pressuring struggling Americans to reach deep into their pockets and make up for the rest of their donations didn't go over too well.
From The New York Post:
During an interview on “CBS Mornings,” Oprah, 69, opened up about the matter while speaking with best friend Gayle King. “I was so excited about it, and then I got up the next morning, and I saw all of this vitriol, and I was, like, ‘Whoa, what happened here?’” she said on Tuesday. “It made me sad that we are at this state in our country.”
Winfrey revealed that she was inspired by Dolly Parton, who organized a support fund to aid victims of wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2017.
Winfrey and Johnson, 51, collectively kicked in $10 million to launch the People’s Fund of Maui, but then jointly asked their fans on Instagram and TikTok to donate the rest.
Fans complained they were already living “paycheck-to-paycheck,” and that the uber-rich celebrities should dole out more of their own money toward relief efforts.
“I would but I’m broke…you two got this though!” Carolina Moreno wrote in the comment section on TikTok under the August 31 video.
“Billionaire asking for money from the poor, what a joke,” another outraged fan commented on Winfrey’s follow-up video on Instagram.
"You have billions. You could donate $100 million and still be as wealthy as before donating. YOU give the money,” Maribel Rubio criticized Winfrey.
“This should be a private message between you and your billionaire mates,” another critic wrote. “It’s so outrageous that you are pleading for money.”
Another wrote: “How is the richest woman in the world asking for money? Make it make sense.”
Well, despite all the backlash, Oprah is still standing behind her decision to ask Americans for money, and she still thinks it was a great idea.
Seriously, there's no getting through to these people.
