His donation to the "No on Prop 8" campaign reportedly is the largest made to the cause so far by a major celebrity.
- Sep 18, 2008
AceShowbiz - Previously raising eyebrows after saying that he and longtime partner Angelina Jolie won't get married until everyone in the United States, including the gays, has the same right, Brad Pitt has made a donation to fight the ban of gay marriage in Massachusetts and California where gays have won the right to wed. He has on Wednesday, September 17 donated $100,000 to the "No on Prop 8" campaign to fight California's November ballot initiative, Proposition 8, which attempts to overturn the state Supreme Court's decision of legalizing same-sex marriage.
"Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8," Pitt said in a statement about the donation he made. His political and philanthropic adviser, Trevor Neilson, told The Associated Press, the movie hunk was surprised that his celebrity pals had not donated more money to support the battle against Proposition 8.
Pitt's $100,000 donation to the "No on Prop 8" campaign, according to Los Angeles Times' L.A. Now blog, is the largest made to the cause so far by a major celebrity. As of press time, the anti-Prop 8 side has raised more than $11.1 million, while supporters have forked over $16.6 million.
This is the second donation that Pitt made during the week. He and Jolie announced earlier in the week that they, through their Jolie-Pitt Foundation, donated $2 million to help fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in Ethiopia. It has been confirmed the money will be used to build a center, named after their adopted daughter Zahara, in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to treat AIDS orphans and develop a program to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.
