Why did stars pose for death photos?

By Alexandra Heilbron on December 2, 2010 | 24 Comments


Courtesy buylife.org

A number of celebrities, including Ryan Seacrest, Elijah Wood and Usher, have posed for pictures that depict them lying in a coffin with a caption that states they’re dead — and here’s the reason why. They posted a Last Tweet and Testament and starting yesterday (December 1st), vowing to give up their “digital lives” (meaning, they won’t be posting updates about their lives to Facebook or Twitter) in order to help save millions of real lives affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. They’re hoping that their sacrifice will inspire people to donate to Alicia Keys’ Keep a Child Alive charity. When donations reach $1,000,000, they’ll be back online and tweeting. Sounds like a good cause.



Comments & Discussion

  1. Helen • December 2, 2010 @ 10:30 AM

    Definitely a great cause – has anyone heard how close they’re getting to that donations goal?

  2. Tweetybird • December 2, 2010 @ 10:40 AM

    I couldn’t care less if these people are on Twitter or Facebook. I don’t get the point of what they’re doing, other than getting publicity. If they cared about the charity, they’d make a quiet donation. If all of the people who posed for the photographs had given $100,000, which most of them can easily afford, they’d already have made more than $1,000,000. I also don’t understand why celebrities ask me for my hard earned money. It’s not easy to come by, which they probably don’t understand since they’re paid thousands, or hundreds of thousands, or even millions for a week’s work.

  3. Age A • December 2, 2010 @ 12:05 PM

    “sacrifice?!” WTF?! “SACRIFICE!!!” Why do they consider not F’n tweeting on facebook or twitter a sacrifice…both could donate the $1,000,000.00 and not lose a nights sleep over it…give me a break…sacrifice!!! A sacrifice is having to make the choice between paying a utility bill or buying food for your kids, doing without food for yourself so your children can eat, working 2 or 3 jobs to pay rent…sacrifice!! Someone should give those assholes a dictionary so they can look up the word ‘sacrifice’. The “digital world” is better off without those self promoting goofs…I’m pissed off…

  4. Samantha • December 2, 2010 @ 12:27 PM

    I went to the site and it says fans have donated $160,835. I added up $100,000 for each celebrity who’s really famous that posed for a photo (Usher, Lady GaGa, Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Serena Williams Kim Kardashian and came up with $800,000 that the charity would’ve earned if they’d all donated that sum. Then I added $10,000 for the others, because I don’t know who they are so don’t know what they earn, but if they’re celebrities, they can probably spare $10,000 and came up with another $120,000. Add that to the $160,835 they’ve gotten from fans and they’ve exceeded their goal.

  5. Corinne • December 2, 2010 @ 12:49 PM

    Age A – You hit the nail on the head! Well said my friend!
    By the way, how much can I pay for them to stay OFF Facebook and Twitter?!

  6. Corinne • December 2, 2010 @ 12:50 PM

    Age A – You hit the nail on the head! Well said! By the way, how much can I pay for them to stay OFF Facebook and Twitter?!

  7. Salemgurl • December 2, 2010 @ 12:54 PM

    Age A- you definitely got this one right. I am not sure how not knowing that they are blowing their nose…oh wait now they are done so they are throwing the tissue away…oh now they are heading into their own private jet to…will inspire me to donate to a cause that they could easily support for years without even noticing that the money is gone. sheesh!!!

  8. Danielle • December 2, 2010 @ 1:55 PM

    Why don’t they donate themselves and leave those who work hard for their money alone?! $100,000 is pocket change for most of them. Who really cares if they don’t tweet or F/B!?!?! NOT ME! Yes it is a good cause and I wish I could afford to donate but I agree with “Connie” keeping them OFF would be more incentive for me!

  9. lynne • December 2, 2010 @ 2:27 PM

    Anyone who has wealth should feel a moral obligation to help those less fortunate than themselves – celebrities’ extravagent life styles (for example the money spent on lavish spending on weddings and personal items for themselves) could help others in the world who really need financial aid,and help.

  10. Christine • December 2, 2010 @ 4:16 PM

    I’m with Age A on this one.

  11. C-Dub • December 2, 2010 @ 4:17 PM

    I agree with the above..really what sacrifice are they making..did they get paid to dress up in a suit and lay in a coffin and get picture taken or was that their ‘charitable time’ as well? Are they EACH going to donate a million if the common people reach the $1 mill goal? That’d be nice and respectable. But just making the world aware of the AIDS in Africa is one thing and posting for pictures to make everyone aware is same thing..what are they ACTUALLY doing themselves?

  12. quinn • December 2, 2010 @ 6:26 PM

    Age A you are so right. There was such a hype about Ryan Seacrest and his huge salary. He alone could put that money in 40X over and not miss a beat.

  13. mizzsweets • December 2, 2010 @ 7:33 PM

    Tweetybird.. your pretty cold, they work for thier money as well just like everyone else and they’re not telling you how much to give either. What they’re doing is for a great cause anything done for charity is a great cause, espacialy those for children. Helping eachother is something a lot of humans have forgotten to do and it’s very sad. We all need to start thinking of how we want to be treated and start treating others the same. In addition, we all need to start being more caring and open hearted, that’s how we’ll also help make this word a much better place.

  14. pixie • December 2, 2010 @ 11:43 PM

    I understand why everyone may feel frustrated but …

    A) who’s to say they haven’t donated any money?
    B) the point is to inspire everyone else to donate money as well and be aware of a great cause …

    There is no need to be cynical and angry about a charity.

  15. JillyKaren • December 3, 2010 @ 1:37 AM

    Thanks, Pixie. My sentiments exactly. If you have money, donate. If you don’t, then don’t. But there is no reason to rage about “selfish” actors when YOU DON’T KNOW for sure if they have donated or not. Wow. Who are the selfish ones?

  16. Manbearpig • December 3, 2010 @ 1:47 AM

    LOLOLOLOL @ this. Epic fail, so much epic fail on their part. How do you spread AIDS awareness if you go offline? lol Ahh, they have learned well from Bono.

  17. whocares • December 3, 2010 @ 1:54 AM

    What a waste of time… but heh everyone today is a sucker to marketing…including me…but these clowns take the cake…talk about FROMAGE… using a CHARITY these days is what EVERY ridiculous star does…mind you it’s to MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD… yup!!!!!!!! PR BABY… that’s what Angelina Jolie can be the UN Ambassador of king crap and also what have GI Joe parties with tanks and guns and all kind of military bullshit….because it’s a SCAM and today every celebrity has a publicist saying… Y ESSSS do it… talk or represent that so and so charity… it’s a good TAX break and YES you look GOOD… meanwhile like others have said in this BLOG…their salaries ALONE can feed Africa and help causes… also today BEING REAL is non existant… today unlike the eighties people are SPOILED with technology and fail to USE THEIR brains…look at Facebook… a JOKE…yes so many people think so HIGHLY of themselves… instead of what GIVING BACK like how artists did CHEAP and yes FREE CONCERTS in the eighties for Amnesty…for Aids for all causes…but NO PEOPLE like Bieber are representing NAIL POLISH and whatever else they can slap their name onto… remember to be a star today means…a book deal, film, Television commercial and lets not forget endorsements or overseas commercials….what a JOKE!!!!
    Charity is used these days as a PAWN… and the real GIVERS are the everyday people like me and YOU who hand out clothes to the poor, food or just give YOUR TIME to hear a lost soul… GIVING is all we need to do… PAY IT FORWARD like the movie… if that TRULY existed…we all would be better individuals in this world… peace…:)

  18. mandee • December 3, 2010 @ 6:04 AM

    Age A on December 2, 2010 12:05 PM i read to your comment and then i glanced through the rest until i saw the one that said you are right ahahaha. anger issues much? to people that have everything, hell even to people that DONT have everything but have the internet, generally facebook and twitter are huge parts in their lives…therefore giving it up WOULD equal “sacrifice”. these celebs worked to get where they are today, i can understand people being jealous, but without people like you and i (that read this crap and watch the movies etc) they wouldnt be rich and famous, now would they? its nice that the stars are trying to convince the rest of us — SELFISH PEOPLE — to donate money to what they think is a worthy cause. when was the last time you tried to raise money for something you believed in? youre right, the celebs CAN donate the money, and most of them match whatever donations are raised from their actions so that the charity or cause ends up with double the amount. it could be worse, they could be doing and saying NOTHING and instead they could be insulting all of us that arent rich. seems these celebs have more class than some of the people that post on here…because im sure you wont get that comment, i am talking directly about you and the other people that are so jealous of the fame these people have that you cant be grateful when they reach out to help those in need, and instead bi*ch about it, as if youve done so much to save humanity or the world. lol.

  19. Karen • December 3, 2010 @ 8:46 AM

    These and all the other “stars” are so arrogant to think we really care if they tweet or are on facebook. Who gives a shit when they brush their teeth or get in their cars to go for a drive. If they really want to help out a charity, donate their time at a shelter or food bank. Here’s a better idea, don’t expect huge paychecks for your minimal skills. Just because your names are known, doesn’t make you special in any way.

  20. Age A • December 3, 2010 @ 12:09 PM

    #1, Pixie…we know they have not donated because we would have definitely had heard about it.and the ‘goal’ would have changed from the $1m to a different amount after the huge press conference letting us all know how generous the ‘stars’ have been. And I am not angry about the charity it’s the actions of the ‘stars’ that I am pissed about.

    #2, Jillykaren…the same to you…if the ‘stars’ had donated there would have been a big thing made about it.

    #3, Mandee…Having a picture of anyone done up as dead to show they are stopping tweeting and facebooking is disgusting and shows no taste…do you have any idea what those photo shoots must have cost to produce. You missed my point…it was… instead of NOT doing something that only people with no lives of their own care about they should have been doing something more productive such as just tell people who read the crap they put over the internet just how important it is to donate…whatever the amount instead they chose to stop communicating with people…does that make any sense.

    And to all who read this and think I was wrong with my statement…I do as much as anyone else to support many causes, Womens shelters, food banks, heart and stroke causes and Alzheimer charities as well as whenever someone has a vehicle stolen and cannot pay charges incurred getting the vehicle back, towing, storage etc…I pay it for them out of my own bank account after reading in the paper or hearing about it on the radio in my city…what do you do?

  21. whocares • December 3, 2010 @ 1:19 PM

    You tell them Age A…I agree with Karen celebrities have bowel mouvements like everyone else…their’s no special power they possess, surely I’m an actress myself and I would be a hypercrite if I said that they have no acting skills or talent..a Daniel Day Lewis who is one of my icons, is UNBELIEVEABLE, yet his passion lies in his art form…not using the media to splash his name everywhere. Seacrest is such a phoney loser, and not even a star..he’s a puppet not an artist, you see the real PROBLEM is artists and celebrities are not in my opinion in the same category…you can have several ridiculous people like the Kardashians splashed all over the media because their is NO FUN in focusing on the everyday stuff that some of these celebrities do, like bring their children to soccer practice… therefore the trashy papers focus on ridiculous stories of let’s see
    ” Who’s Kim dating?? Oh my she’s turning the big 30 and alone…how TRAGIC..what a joke ….or Jessica Simpson has gained weight?? let’s see how many of us have skipped the scale from time to time…it’s a parody alright….

  22. BFD • December 3, 2010 @ 3:20 PM

    I am so fed up with people talking about twitter and facebook, it makes me sick. People, listen up: go live your lives and stop posting every single stupid thing that you do or say on line. Everyone needs to get a life!

  23. jjones • December 6, 2010 @ 11:01 AM

    mizzsweets, I get what you’re saying, but what you may not have factored into that equation is where their salaries really come from (US, the consumer), we pay $10+ to see a movie their in or we tune into the radio staion their on. Do THEY really earn the money they make, kind of debateable if you ask me. It’s like athlete’s, why are they able to make millions PLAYING a GAME – it’s because we pay to see them, so really we’ve already given.

    Maybe that should be taken into consideration when celebrities are looking for us to buy into their charities (if they think it’s a worthy cause, then donate yourself and then put yourself out there and not before).

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