Melissa McCarthy took to Instagram to profusely apologize fo accidentally supporting a charity that is anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ through her “20 Days of Kindness” initiative that she and HBO Max launched to promote the new movie “Supervillain.”
via Page Six:
“Hi there. It has come to our attention that our ’20 Days of Kindness,’ which is a kindness hub that we started to shine a light on 20 great charities, had one in there that, there’s no other way to say it, we blew it,” McCarthy said in a video posted to her Instagram on Thursday. “We made a mistake and we backed a charity that upon proper vetting stands for everything that we do not.”
The charity, Exodus Cry, is an evangelical organization dedicated to ending sex trafficking around the world. However, the nonprofit’s founder, Benjamin Nolot has a history of making anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ comments including calling abortion a “holocaust,” and homosexuality “an unspeakable offense to God,” the Daily Beast reported.
McCarthy, 50, thanked fans for flagging the charity so she could make proper adjustments and nix Exodus Cry from the “20 Days of Kindness” project.
“I want to thank everyone on social media who said, ‘What are you doing? Are you sure you want to back this?’ because the answer is, no, we do not,” she said. “We have pulled it. We are so incredibly grateful for you ringing the bell and helping us be better. We’re sorry for our mistake. Oh boy, are we are sorry for it. Can’t believe that we missed it.”
She added that she hopes her mistake doesn’t “ding” the other charities involved because they are doing “amazing things.”
HBO Max also apologized for the oversight, telling The Wrap, “We were made aware of the issues surrounding Exodus Cry and have removed them from the list of partners associated with the 20 Days of kindness campaign.”
For the initiative, McCarthy and HBO Max highlight a new charity each day to encourage the public to donate to different causes. HBO Max will also be donating $20,000 to each cause. Other charities included in the project are Habitat for Humanity, Planned Parenthood, and Best Friends Animal Society.
Watch her apology video below.
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