Chrissy Teigen And John Legend Raise $1 Million In Two Days To Support ACLU Against Trump’s Immigration Policy

In honor of President Donald Trump’s birthday on Thursday, June 14, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend announced they would be donating $288,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The couple clarified that $72,000 came from each member of their family, Billboard reports.

Teigen and Legend’s quest to inspire more donations to ACLU didn’t stop there. The two encouraged their fans and followers to consider donating to the cause as well. They noted that whether it was $7.20 and $72, every single donation of any amount would help the ACLU.

In a very long post on Twitter just two days ago, Chrissy talked about how she and John were horrified and “outraged” by the stories they’d seen regarding immigrant families being ripped apart by the new policies of Trump’s administration. She defined the actions as “cruel” and claimed they went against everything the United States believed in.

“John and I are outraged to see and hear the horror stories of immigrant families seeking asylum and refuge in America being ripped apart due to the inhumane policies of the Trump administration. These actions are cruel, anti-family and go against everything we believe this country should represent. The ACLU is committed to defending the rights and humanity of these vulnerable families. In addition to fighting for immigrants’ rights they’re advocating for reproductive rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, LGBT rights, 1st amendment rights and holding the Trump administration accountable whenever possible.”

After her rant, Chrissy took time to explain the $288,000 donation she and John made to the ACLU in honor of Trump’s birthday before encouraging fans and followers of the couple to do the same.

In just 48 hours, Teigen and Legend had inspired individuals from all over to collectively donate over $1 million to the ACLU. Teigen, again, took to Twitter to open up about how moved she was that everyone was so willing to come together to collectively make such a huge contribution to the ACLU.

Wish Donald a happy birthday with a donation to the ACLU: https://t.co/7x7aqXyxG6

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 14, 2018

She noted that whether you were someone who sent $7.20 or $72, you played a role in reaching that $1 million. According to her post on Twitter, there were over 20,000 individuals inspired to make donations after Chrissy and John initially made theirs just two days ago in honor of President Trump’s birthday.

“Over 20,000 of you donated. You. Did. That. I am so grateful, so happy, so humbled and hopeful to live amongst you wonderful beings.”

Teigen’s post on Twitter is packed with comments praising her and Legend for encouraging people to come together to raise money for the ACLU. The thread also contains a few heartbreaking photos of very young children crying as they are stripped away from their parents. This pictures being examples of what inspired Chrissy and John to encourage and inspire donations in the first place.

this little girl is the same age as my daughter. luna is the happiest thing. the funniest girl. and she is absolutely terrified to look around and realize she is too far away from us, even for seconds. the fear she would feel here fills me with rage and sadness. pic.twitter.com/riSV8ADRFe

— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) June 16, 2018

One individual commented on how much of a “shame” it was for collecting so much money for the ACLU required a celebrity couple such as Legend and Teigen to stand up and make some noise. A second, however, commented that it was not a shame at all. In fact, they thought it was a prime example as to why celebrities need to speak out about important issues to raise awareness.

“Unfortunately, it takes a celebrity to raise awareness to some cases, as there are so many. @wkamaubell retweeted @Alyssa_Milano who is paying the #DACA fees for 4 people. We NEED celebs to NOT be silent.”

Overall, Chrissy and John’s efforts were met with nothing but love, support, and positive thoughts by all of their fans and followers.