Email 
Print 
Actress Jolie tops AlertNet celebrity do-gooder poll 2008
Written by: Emma Batha
Hollywood actress, U.N. goodwill ambassador and globe-trotting mother-of-six Angelina Jolie was named top celebrity humanitarian for the second year running in an AlertNet poll. Not many mothers would go haring off to a warzone just months after giving birth to twins, but Jolie squeezed in a trip to Afghanistan in October to raise awareness of the plight of refugees returning home to rebuild their lives. Jolie scooped almost a third of the votes in the online poll despite the fact she has done relatively little other humanitarian work in a busy year in which she also released two major films. In second place was actress Mia Farrow, who regularly speaks out on Darfur and Congo. U2 rockstar Bono, who campaigns on debt, unfair trade and HIV/AIDS, came third. The least respected celebrity was Madonna, who was roundly condemned over her adoption of a young boy from Malawi which was finalised this year. Jolie, said to be the world's top earning actress, has made some 25 trips to meet refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) since 2001 in her capacity as an ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR. "She manages to raise the issues on the plight of refugees and IDPs in ways that are very human, simple but poignant," said UNHCR spokeswoman Marie-Noelle Little-Boyer who has accompanied Jolie on many trips. "I'm not surprised she won. She has a way of reaching people that is something particular to her. I think she is so moved by the situation herself that it really comes from the heart." Of the 132 people who took part in the poll, 40 voted for Jolie. Other celebrities attracting praise included actor George Clooney who campaigns on Darfur and was named a U.N. "messenger of peace" this year, and Jolie's partner actor Brad Pitt who is involved in post-Hurricane Katrina work and runs a Darfur charity with Clooney and actor Don Cheadle. Credit crunch Several voters named Jolie and Pitt as a team. The Jolie-Pitt Foundation donated $2 million this year to create a centre for Ethiopian children affected by AIDS and tuberculosis and another $1 million for children affected by the Iraq war. However, voters in the poll were divided over the couple's adoption of three children from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam. "Jolie's 'humanitarian' life and her real life don't mix," commented one voter. But Jolie did not come in for the same flack as Madonna. Of the 73 people who voted for the celebrity humanitarian they least respected, a third chose the popstar. "How could she adopt a young boy who has a father, rather than supporting the father, so the young boy could stay with his family?" asked one voter, referring to Madonna's adoption of David Banda. "Her adoption project sent completely the wrong message about development," added another. Peter Walker, a director at the Feinstein International Center at Tufts University, said many people probably felt the media circus surrounding the adoption robbed the boy and his family of some dignity whereas Jolie's adoptions were more low-key. However, not everyone was a fan of Jolie - she also came second in the vote for least respected celebrity - albeit a long way behind Madonna. Jolie attracted criticism for her international adoptions and being "too publicity-seeking". If like some voters in the poll you are heartily sick of celebrities then next year may bring good news. Walker predicted we might see a lot less of celebrity humanitarians in 2009 as the credit crunch forces people to cut back on donations to charity. He thought aid agencies would be less likely to launch high profile campaigns amid the gloomy economic climate. "I think we are probably going to see a down-turn of celebrities involved in crises over the next few years. People will be less inclined to give to charity and their focus will be more inward," he said. The UNHCR's Little-Boyer said Jolie was already trying to find ways to emphasise that the world still needs to help refugees despite the financial crisis. "She is aware that humanitarian aid might be at risk because of the credit crunch," Little-Boyer said. "She has asked us, how can I help you make this message a strong one in these difficult times?" Other celebrities popular with voters included:
Reuters AlertNet is not responsible for the content of external websites.
We welcome argument but AlertNet will not publish comments that are racist, abusive or libellous.
2 responses to “Actress Jolie tops AlertNet celebrity do-gooder poll 2008”
Please note that comments should not be regarded as the views of Reuters.
Leave a Reply
When you submit a comment to us we request your name, e-mail address and optionally a link to a website. Please note where you submit a website address, we may link to it via your name. By sending us a comment, you accept that we have the right to show the comment and your name to users. Although we require your email address, this will not be published on the site, and is only required to enable us to check facts with you, e.g. if you are making a claim we can not confirm easily. Additionally, if you would like your comment removed at anytime, you'll have to use this e-mail address when you contact us. To remove a comment at any time please e-mail us at blogs-(at)-reuters-(dot)-com (address obscured to avoid spam) specifying who you are and what you would like removed. We moderate all comments and will publish everything that advances the post directly or with relevant tangential information. We reserve the right to edit comments in order to maintain the quality of the comments, and may not include links to irrelevant material. We try not to publish comments that we think are offensive or appear to pass you off as another person, and we will be conservative if comments may be considered libelous. Reuters will use your data in accordance with Reuters privacy policy. Reuters Group is primarily responsible for managing your data. As Reuters is a global company your data will be transferred and available internationally, including in countries which do not have privacy laws but Reuters seeks to comply with its privacy policy.
Unlike some other content on this website, the written content in this article may be republished or redistributed by any means free of charge. Any use of photographs and graphics on this website is expressly prohibited. You must check whether written content contained in other articles on this website may be republished or redistributed without the express permission of Reuters or the relevant third party provider.
01 Jan 2009 11:35:53 GMT
"despite the fact she has done relatively little other humanitarian work in a busy year in which she also released two major films. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ HUH?? "Angelina also went to Iraq in the past year. She was about 3 months pregnant when she was in Iraq and she was nursing twins when she went to Afghanistan. She also launched a major funding effort for KIND and traveled to Washington, D.C. to promote the program she started 4 years ago that recruits volunteers attorneys to provide legals services to unaccompanied immigrant children caught in the legal system, without recourse. She also did major work for Global Access for Children to highlight the need for schools in refugees camps so that refugee children can be educated.
04 Jan 2009 11:13:42 GMT
I suppose there is a large 'why should we care' factor to anything a celebrity does, by certain people; to other people, their every motive is often questioned; I think they have a moral imperative to lead those they do in the best way possible. Public perceptions of celebrity actions are very powerful instruments of social change, which is why movies and television shows are tightly controlled in fascist regions of the planet. I think the criticism of Madonna was way overblown, personally. I know a lot of artists who are out to change the world, to be revolutionary in their way -- others wish to be merely high paid entertainers; both win when they do charity events, whether their motive is Machiavellian is inconsequential. I like to think these are very sincere attempts to help use art to better the world. We should be grateful for any celebrity who chooses to devote their lives to anything more than pure personal pleasur! e -- that slippery slope seems to claim a lot of the wealth and fame crowd.
The real problem is when a celebrity is used by a cult, such as scientology, to use up scarce state and federal education and health funding for schools and treatment centers that are based on faulty science and propped up by mind control techniques and dirty tricks.