Not by a mile, boss
Our resident Kiss92 DJ/journo has his doubts about hippie Miley Cyrus rescuing mankind
COMMENTARY
Miley Cyrus is a hippie now and she's going to save the world.
That's what hippies do.
Or try to do.
Or claim to want to do.
Or just think about doing before being distracted by a less challenging hobby.
Anyway, the US singer-actress just launched a new charity called the Happy Hippie Foundation, and it's got a website AND a Facebook page AND an Instagram account.
She's not messing around.
The mission of the Happy Hippie Foundation is to "rally young people to fight injustice facing homeless youth, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) youth and other vulnerable populations".
Obviously, she doesn't want to rally OLD people - those with actual money and power - because old people are just gross, am I right?
The website's homepage gives some quick stats on youth homelessness, offers up a manifesto and then quickly makes a pitch for donations.
Over on the Instagram page, there are some cute pictures of Cyrus and her pals and also lots of calls for donations.
On the Facebook page, there's a video of Cyrus doing a cover of The Replacements' Androgynous along with veteran rocker Joan Jett, and then there's a button beneath it where you can make a donation.
Are you starting to see a pattern here?
The thing that concerns me about Cyrus' brand of fund-raising is that she's throwing a lot of self-consciously dopey hippie talk at her fans, rather than giving them the sort of facts they would need to make a sensible decision regarding their parents' hard-earned money.
On the website's FAQ, there's a section where they endeavour to tell potential supporters where their donations would end up.
Here's what it says: "We are currently fund-raising to create digital support groups for LGBT youth and their families. These groups remotely offer the proven services of physical support groups, providing a personal, moderated, safe and affirming experience while also providing legal and medical resources."
So, like, they wanna start a chat room?
That's gonna fix homelessness?
SOCKS & FOOD
If you dig a bit deeper into the foundation, you find that they also seem to be funding local charities in Los Angeles that help homeless kids with everyday stuff like socks and food.
That sounds fine. In fact, it sounds noble.
Trouble is, much of the rest of it just seems like a lot of bull and is confusing.
I basically just have a problem with fantastically wealthy celebrities hitting up their much less wealthy fans for money, no matter how admirable their intentions might be.
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, Cyrus sits on a fortune of US$160 million (S$213 million).
If she really wants to set up a chat room for homeless kids, she has the cash.
She could also afford an awful lot of socks.
I root for hippies. I really do.
I think their work is not yet done.
I just have my doubts that the tongue-flailing Cyrus is the shining star child she claims to be.
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