Ruby Rose defends LGBT donation for Hurricane Harvey
LGBTQ celebrity Ruby Rose was hit by critics for donating US$10,000 to victims of Hurricane Harvey. The reason: she donated to an LGBTQ centre in Houston.
Rose, one of the LGBTQ stars of the TV show Orange is The New Black, had to go on Twitter to explain her reason for the donation.
The promise of Ruby Rose
Rose’s problem began when she promised to her 1.33 million fans on Twitter that she would make a donation to the Montrose Center, Houston’s LGBTQ counseling and community center to match Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff’s US$10,000 donation.
“I’m going to match Jack and eat a banana while I donate 10 k to the LGBT centre in Houston also,” she said in a Twitter post.
However, this drew the online ire of some people questioning her choice of charity, saying that the star was only helping those in the LGBTQ community affected by Hurricane Harvey. Some were just plain bigoted.
“So you are only willing to help out gay people suffering from the floods in Houston? You are a disgusting human being,” wrote an anonymous commenter.
“I don’t understand the equality being enforced here by donating to an exclusively LGBT org. I support gay rights but when it comes to humanity efforts, why not donate to help everyone, not just the group you belong to?” wrote another commenter named Chase Baker.
The response of Ruby Rose
After taking screenshots of the criticism and posting them, Rose went back on Twitter to tell people that the LGBTQ center doesn’t discriminate the people that they help.
““I don’t agree with the wording and personal attacks but I do understand those unaware of what an LGBT centre represents and how it works,” she tweeted.
She also wrote out a statement declaring that the center “is one of the most inclusive organisations I can think of.”
“It’s not like they check how gay you are on entry. Truthfully I just don’t post everything I do as it’s not really about that. It’s far more rewarding to donate anonymously by a long mile,” she added.
Her initial response to the criticism was: “All Love.. I suggest instead of attacking me just donate what you can to the organization you feel is ‘right’. Even $1 helps.”
The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey left at least 45 people confirmed dead and the economic toll is estimated in the tens of billions.