When celebrities get involved in a cause it can do one of two things. It can either inspire people, or it can make them skeptical. What people need to realize first is that despite the fact that celebrities are often quite well off and often seen as members of high society, they are also free thinking individuals that have their own unique set of beliefs and moral values. In other words, they are not the mindless, PR-seeking elitists that only care when it’s convenient. They do in fact champion causes because they believe in the protest at hand. There might be those that are seeking more attention as part of their nature, but overall these people do not have to put themselves on the line for others, and yet they choose to do so.
Here are just a few of those that have stood up for a cause in the past.
Susan Sarandon
Sarandon was arrested at a protest in New York in 1999 when she joined 219 people in voicing their concern of the unjust shooting of a West Indian immigrant. Seen as a civil liberty issue, Sarandon was quite passionate about her stance on racial profiling and the act of actually showing up to protest such an event. While she was eventually released she still champions the cause of standing up against racial injustice.
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah has actually showed that she is more than willing to go to jail for her beliefs as she’s been arrested multiple times in regards to her protests. She was actually arrested in 2012 and then again in 2013 for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline. She’s been arrested many times, but those were two of her most notably recent incidents.
James Cromwell
Cromwell was arrested in 2015 for chaining himself and two others together at a Power Venture facility. The protest was held in opposition to the power plant that was run by the company. He was also arrested at the University of Wisconsin in 2013 over the issue of experimentation that was being done on cats. He’s definitely a man that cares about other living creatures and environment, which is impressive but somehow seems a little short-sighted considering that his protests have never seemed to go where he wants them to. All things said though he is a very involved citizen.
George Clooney
It was 2012 when Clooney was arrested on a misdemeanor for crossing a police line. He was protesting the killing of Khartoum citizens, an act that was being done by their own government. This protest was all about creating a humanitarian effort to cease the pointless suffering and bloodshed that was going on in the Sudan. Clooney might be a suave, gentlemanly type, but he definitely knows when to throw his hat in the ring and get active.
Shailene Woodley
She’s received the most press of any celebrity protester as of late largely because of the issue on the table and because she has been so prominent in the news. Woodley threw her support behind the protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline and was arrested in 2016 for her efforts. Even upon being released she continued her protests, championing the cause as her own as she stood with the affected Sioux tribe.
It might be for PR, or it might not be, but in any case the celebrities are out there showing that they do care about more than just their time on screen and their next movie role. It does take a special person to stand up and announce that they care, and these individuals, whether for their own reasons or public opinion, are doing just that.
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