People Have A Lottt Of Thoughts On Oprah And Dwayne Johnson's Maui Wildfire Fund — Here's Why
I'm sure you have heard about the devastating fires in Maui recently.
According to AP News, over 115 people have died from the wildfire — which is one of the deadliest in the history of the US. It's also left over 100 residents missing and displaced 6,000.
To help with disaster relief, Oprah and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson have joined forces to help those in need affected by the disaster.
In a joint post on Instagram, the two announced the creation of the People’s Fund of Maui, "a fund putting money directly in the pockets of those who were affected by the recent wildfires."
Both celebrities have long ties to the island.
Oprah has lived in Maui "part-time for more than 15 years" and owns more than 2,000 acres of land. Reportedly, 870 of those acres were just purchased earlier this year.
When the fires started, Oprah was met with backlash, with people demanding she give the land back, due to the complicated dynamics of wealthy individuals coming to the islands to purchase land and pricing out locals.
The Rock, for his part, grew up in Hawaii, has referred to the islands as "home," and is half Samoan.
Well, despite their intentions, their video wasn't exactly met with a positive response. Critics have called out Oprah's land ownership and the irony of two very wealthy celebrities asking for donations.
Some are even in disbelief of where the money is going:
According to the caption on the post, Oprah and The Rock kickstarted the fund with a donation of "$10 million."
The comments weren't all bad, though — they were also met with support and defense.
