Beyoncé postpones major announcement due to LA wildfires
The ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ singer originally planned to share a special announcement on January 14
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Your support makes all the difference.Beyoncé has postponed her highly-anticipated announcement amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.
The 43-year-old singer issued a statement on Instagram on Tuesday (January 14) to confirm that her teased announcement — scheduled to come out today — has been pushed back. However, she didn’t specify when her announcement would be shared.
“The January 14th announcement will be postponed to a later date due to the devastation caused by the ongoing wildfires around areas of Los Angeles,” she wrote. “I continue to pray for healing and rebuilding for the families suffering from trauma and loss. We are so blessed to have brave first responders who continue to work tirelessly to protect the Los Angeles community.”
She also addressed the recent donation that she made to support families in Los Angeles, who’ve experienced devastating losses due to the wildfires.
“The BeyGOOD LA Fire Relief Fund has donated $2.5 million to directly support families who lost their homes and community organizations at the forefront of relief,” Beyoncé wrote. “Please join us in supporting with whatever you can.”
On January 13, the BeyGood Foundation’s Instagram account said it has launched the LA Fire Relief Fund, which “is earmarked to aid families in the Altadena/Pasadena area who lost their homes, and to churches and community centers to address the immediate needs of those affected by the wildfires”.
Founded in 2013, the charity concentrates on economic equity, by “supporting marginalized and under-resourced programs, according to its mission statement.
Other celebrities who have donated funds include Eva Longoria and her foundation, the Screen Actors Guild, the Recording Academy and MusiCares, and Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her family — who have all pledged $1 million each to those affected by the wildfires.
Paris Hilton launched an emergency fund to support families who have been displaced, kickstarting it with a personal donation of $100,000 after she watched her Malibu home “burn to the ground on live TV.”
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Last week, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, also revealed that her Malibu bungalow was one of the properties destroyed by the wildfires.
“This is what I was looking at on my birthday this past weekend from my tiny little bungalow on the water in Malibu!” she wrote on Instagram while sharing a video of a sea view. “It was my favorite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone !!”
The fires have thrown Hollywood’s awards season into disarray, with the Critics Choice Awards and Producers Guild Awards nominations among the events postponed. The Oscars nominations have also been delayed for a second time, as they’re now expected to be announced on January 23.
On Monday (January 13), a new blaze, named the Auto Fire, broke out in Ventura County, California, and has already scorched about 56 acres, prompting a swift response from fire crews. While it remains at zero percent containment, it has been successfully halted to the river bottom area of Oxnard with no buildings in jeopardy, officials said.
Firefighters are bracing for the return of ferocious Santa Ana winds that are expected to fan the flames of massive wildfires raging across Southern California, as the death toll climbs to at least 25 people. The combined area burnt by the fires around Los Angeles is reportedly about 60 square miles.
Additional reporting by PA