Sean Penn’s Cannes Film Festival Fundraiser Raises Money For Haiti
Sean Penn‘s Cannes Film Festival fundraiser ball is the talk of the legendary French film event. The ball will be held on Friday night, and will help raise funds for the 2012 Haiti earthquake that devastated the third-world country.
“[Penn] founded J/P Haitian Relief Organization or J/P HPO which has been a leading group in helping rebuild the devastated country. The group is responsible for repairing homes, building clinics, creating a community center and providing jobs to those in need.”
Along with the 51-year-old actor, the event is also sponsored by Georgio Armani, and will include guests like Petra Nemcova, a Czech model that Penn is reportedly in a relationship with.
According to The Daily Mail, a source from U2 frontman Bono’s star-filled 52nd birthday bash at NYC’s the Spotted Pig told US Magazine that:
“Petra was all over him like crazy. She was rubbing his shoulders and rubbing his leg. She was hanging all over him. Sean looked like he was playing it cool. But they did leave the restaurant together.”
E! Online reports that Sean Penn slammed the public, as well as the government, for not doing enough to help Haiti after the earthquake. The country is still rebuilding. Penn told reporters that:
“It’s not only celebrities who went for a day…It’s the whole f–king world. It’s all of you.”
He went on to say that:
“The reason we have Haiti fatigue is because there was never a commitment in the first place.”
Bloomberg Business Week reports that Penn explained the potential for Haiti to turn around by saying:
“This is a place that, within the next five years, can show such incredible potential for turnaround. If you don’t get involved with it, boy are you going to miss something.”
The January 2010 earthquake killed about 300,000 people and, according to Sean Penn, over 450,000 people are still displaced.
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