Larry King Hosting Telethon For Gulf Coast Monday

Larry King will host a two-hour telethon Monday to benefit victims of the Gulf Coast oil spill, CNN said in an announcement.

The telethon is called "Disaster in the Gulf: How You Can Help." Proceeds will benefit several charities, including United Way and The Nature Conservancy.

In a press release, CNN listed some of the stars who will be featured, including Justin Bieber, Cameron Diaz, Robert Redford, Tim McGraw and Kathy Griffin. Anderson Cooper and other CNN reporters will also be giving live updates from the Gulf Region.

In the announcement, King said that he wanted to do the telethon so the region could get immediate help:

"I understand bureaucracy and that some things take time, but when you're out of work, you don't need help tomorrow, you need help today. I'm grateful so many friends and colleagues are coming out to support our June 21st telethon. We're going to raise all we can to help the people and also the Wildlife that need it now."

The special airs Monday, June 21st, from 8 to 10 PM on CNN.

Comments

[falco]

04:03 PM on 06/22/2010

One of the organizations that will receive this money, The Nature Conservatory. Yeah, I trust these guys...

http://www.nature.org/aboutus/leadership/art15466.html#Satter

[gomezrules]

03:48 PM on 06/22/2010

If he held it on Fox, people might actually watch.

[fairplaystacy]

02:40 PM on 06/22/2010

What happened to the Bernie Madoff victims fundraiser?
What happened to the victims of Bush/Cheney Administration fundraiser?
What happened to the victims of Wall Street abuses fundraiser?

[fairplaystacy]

02:15 PM on 06/22/2010

This is fundraising run amok and ludicrous on top of that. BP owes the Americans whatever it takes and no one should be fundraising to lessen their burden or cloud the issue.

This third party fundraising takes focus and pressure off the real culprits and indirectly aids and abets their actions, which will be proven to be criminal.

[whitewater]

08:18 AM on 06/22/2010

What a disservice to the people of the Gulf. Couldn't they get someone is not a turnoff.

[Cdangers]

11:52 PM on 06/21/2010

This should be canceled and there should never be another organized. BP should pay for every cent it costs to fix this.

[1088]

07:28 PM on 06/21/2010

CNN pundits works for BP and this is another way for the tax payer to pay for the spill. I'm not giving one dime towards this, for BP is no victim and they need to shell out all the money.

[davidpkronmiller]

05:02 PM on 06/21/2010

After Katrina and Rita the gulf coast was essentially ignored. This BP spill has set them back even farther. BP can only take care of the burden created by their leak/spill - they can not help the gulf recover really from Katrina and Rita.

This telethon is not an attempt to supersede BP's role - it is in addition to it - to help immediately and to raise awareness that our friends and neighbors of the gulf need our support - not just our hate against BP.

[eeeeeeeeeeeee]

12:54 PM on 06/21/2010

I feel for the people in the gulf, but I hope no one donates money to this telethon or any other organization trying to raise funds as a result of this disaster. BP, Haliburton and the other guilty parties should be footing the bill and paying any volunteers a fair hourly wage (with benefits) directly or through whatever organization they are volunteering for. We should not be guilted into giving our money to correct someone else's incompetence.

[capitaldysfunction]

06:51 PM on 06/21/2010

And they vote Reptilian party and drink oil. Let them eat cake.

[american-dolt]

12:17 PM on 06/21/2010

Larry has generously donated over 5,000 pairs of his old suspenders for the cause.

[Monrocsol]

12:15 PM on 06/21/2010

If Robert Redford is on it, then it is legit.

[fairplaystacy]

02:34 PM on 06/22/2010

It's legit, but inappropriate.

[falco]

04:09 PM on 06/22/2010

Who do you think runs the movie stars, themselves? Or the "agency" in the middle? Who do you think the "agency" in the middle is? Motorola? Sony? William & Morris? Do you think movie stars and musicians are independent? Answer to no one? Get to make millions upon millions without a monkey in the middle?

[xlntcat]

01:55 AM on 06/21/2010

I think that a telathon is premature and inappropriate. Last week $20 billion was committed to an independent trust to be paid to those with ligitimate losses. If you believe that any non-profit is going to be giving out anything in a more expeditious manner than this claim fund then you know nothing about non-profits who all have a well documented history of fraud and above all malingering. The Haitians continue to live in the streets with the lucky ones receiving food every third day despite the millions raised.

Over the past two years 8 million Americans lost their livelihood. If you own property your property values went down. A Louisiana Charter boat owner was complaining on CNN that in 2009 he earned $107.000 and BP settled his claim at $33,000. The catch is that his claim was for a 2 month loss and he can continue to file as long claims as long as his business is impacted. No one pays out on the anticipation of sustaining a loss. As for as property value, most beach front property is owned by large investment firms, mega-corporations and millionaires. CNN has exploited the catasthrophe by creating a factually inaccurate narrative and everytime citizens in the affected area try to correct the misinformation they quickly move on stressing the handful who will go along with their narrative.

[davidpkronmiller]

05:06 PM on 06/21/2010

You're wrong and it's sad that the people of the gulf do not seem to have your support - just your anger.

They were hit horribly hard by Katrina and Rita - and ignored by you and me and the rest of the country for the last four plus years. They never recovered from those disasters. To add BP's leak/spill to their already in crisis region is too great of an added burden - despite BP's payout. BP only is going to pay for the oil spill/leak and clean up.
The region was already struggling to recover from the last crisis - this telethon could ease some of that burden and certainly help private citizens.

[nexxtep54]

01:28 AM on 06/21/2010

Atta boy Larry. While you are at it describe how many jobs would be created by manufacturing this thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP8iN4ZX1JU&feature=channel and show how close Gulfport Mississippi is to the oil leak. The parts are already available. Just build it.

[tissa]

12:51 PM on 06/20/2010

can someone have a telethon to make his head smaller?

[rshrink]

02:46 PM on 06/20/2010

What size would you like?

[tissa]

06:51 PM on 06/20/2010

Anything that is smaller than 2 feet wide.

[llivinginthemoment]

07:01 PM on 06/20/2010

they have surgeries for that type of thing

[tissa]

09:02 PM on 06/20/2010

Well, let him know about that :-)

[David Connell]

10:51 AM on 06/20/2010

Hi,
My name is Dave Connell, I'm an employee with The Nature Conservancy. I just wanted to say that we are excited to be able to take part in this event and give everyone a quick update on why we think it's important to take on this effort beyond the funding BP must provide to account for the full cost and extent of damages associated with the effects of the spill.

Coming on top of decades of degradation in the Gulf, merely cleaning up the effects of the spill will not be enough to save the Gulf’s ecosystems and all the benefits they provide for the people of the Gulf and the nation.

We need to do more than clean up. We need to restore health and resilience to the Gulf and for a goal that ambitious, we need strong commitments and the will and support of people and communities. The Conservancy has been working in the Gulf for decades. We have the science, the commitment, the partnerships and the will to lead a robust, long-term effort to protect and restore Gulf coastal ecosystems, across 5 states from Texas to Florida.

You can read more about our ongoing work in the Gulf here:
http://www.nature.org/gulfofmexico

and fund out how you can help in the gulf here:
http://www.nature.org/restore

Thanks to everyone for your support and be sure to tune in on Monday. It should be a wonderful event!

[davidpkronmiller]

05:08 PM on 06/21/2010

This is exactly what I've been saying to the folks here. The gulf is still recovering from Katrina and Rita and this telethon could help ease the additional burden that the BP disaster has created. BP may be able to take care of their part of the crisis but they can not really do much about the crisis that has been unfolding since Katrina in that region.

Hope the telethon goes well. I know my wife and I will be making some sort of donation.