Angelina Jolie donates $100K to Syrian refugees, writes essay for World Refugee Day

I totally forgot that yesterday was World Refugee Day. Damn! And there I was, focusing solely on Angelina Jolie’s “Maleficent: Texas Ranger” ensemble. The UNHCR already released Angelina’s World Refugee Day PSA a week ago, and while she was working on her film in England, Angelina made sure to time two pieces of news for the significant day. One, she wrote a first person essay which was published on the UNHCR’s website. Two, she donated $100,000 to the UNHCR’s operations geared towards Syria and the unfolding humanitarian crisis there. Here’s her essay:

UNHCR believes even 1 person forced to flee is too many. And it’s true. Every individual refugee matters. Each has their own story. Each has suffered and survived more than I could ever bear. And yet, they rise up to live another day.

We risk forgetting the individual when we speak in numbers, but the numbers tell an important story. In the past year 4.3 million people have become displaced. There are still 2.7 million refugees from Afghanistan. 12 million people are stateless. And for the fifth consecutive year the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide exceeded 42 million.

Sadly, a person who becomes a refugee is likely to remain one for many years – often stuck in a camp or living precariously in the city of a developing nation. 70 per cent of refugees under UNHCR’s protection have been in this situation for more than five years. Their safety and well-being depend on the continued generosity of those countries who have kept their borders open to refugees, and on the vital efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance wherever and whenever it is necessary.

Unfortunately, the world is producing displaced people faster than it is producing solutions to displacement. And the solutions are not exclusively humanitarian – they are also political. The international community should rededicate itself to preventing conflict, addressing it when it erupts, and solving it more quickly, for that is the only way to create durable solutions for the refugees whose strength inspires us on this World Refugee Day.

Angelina Jolie, 20th June 2012

[Via UNHCR Press Release]

It’s basically her “state of the refugees” address as a special envoy for the UNHCR. She’s listing facts, not opinions, and offering a generalization as to where the majority of people should be able to find common ground – that refugee crises occur when there’s conflict, and dealing with the conflicts would be more productive than dealing with another refugee crisis.

In addition to those good works, The HALO Trust announced a new initiative to bring “added transparency to humanitarian landmine clearance.” You can now view landmine-affected areas on Google Earth, and the narration for the program is done by Angelina. Jolie is described as a “longtime HALO supporter” – she toured HALO’s headquarters last year, she’s toured landmine-affected areas and she funded a massive de-mining initiative in Cambodia too. You can read more about the new program here.

Once again, here’s Angelina’s PSA:

Photos courtesy of WENN.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

112 Responses to “Angelina Jolie donates $100K to Syrian refugees, writes essay for World Refugee Day”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. lisa2 says:

    She is very dedicated to this cause. Over 10 years.

    I’m sure there will be the usual. That 100,000 is not enough or that it is PR for a movie that is coming out in 2 years or whatever

    I applaud her and all she does. She is not required to do anything. But like many people she gives of her time and money.

    I think she is amazing.

    (note: I added the 2 after my name because there are a lot of lisas here. I’ll post this way from now on)

    • samira677 says:

      I never understood the comments that she’s only doing this publicity. It takes a lot of energy to do something you hate for almost 15 years. The funny thing about the “$100,000 is meaningless” comments is that Angelina donates a lot of times during the year. All of these nothing amounts add up to millions but the haters are too dumb to realize that.

      • beyonce's bump says:

        Yea Samira, 100,000 sure ain’t meaningless. That is twice the salary of the average worker from my parts of town! and you are right re the amount of other times and things she donates. Between flying alone to bring light to some of these issues, do we wanna really sit down calculate how much this woman has spent for her convictions? #hatersgonhate…lol 😀

      • Zelda says:

        Yes–it’s all for publicity. She’s doing it to give publicity to an often-ignored cause. That’s the point. Princess Diana did the same thing. John Lennon did the same thing Bono (*gag*) does the same thing. Publicity is a tool that celebrities have at their disposal– more valuable than even their cash– to help a cause. That’s why they have the photo ops and PSAs etc–because we’ve been shown pictures of refugees a million times and haven’t responded. But a picture of Angelina Jolie spreads across the web in a matter of minutes. That’s the POINT.

        But some people enjoy hate to much to listen to the actual message. “F*ck this tragedy–I’d rather talk about how much I dislike Jolie.” Ugly, ugly response.

      • Tamra says:

        If it was for publicity, then why would she have dedicated 15 years of her life towards the cause. Why would she travel all these different countries numerous times during the year? Why would she continue to donate money to all these different causes? Why did she make “In the land of blood and honey”? Why is she making another film? This is dedication. Dedication and publicity can go hand in hand, but what she has been doing this for years. She cares.

    • beyonce's bump says:

      me too Lisa! and if it is all for publicity, I would love to live in a world where celeb do great deeds such as these to promote their movies, as oppose to flashing their tits or “leaking” naked pics.

      I have said it before and I will say it again, I do not know Jolie’s intentions or motivations, I personally think she REALLY cares about these world issues but I do not know her personally to go on some defensive 7 hour argument with some of these posters. However, intentions or motivations, aside, you just cannot convince me, this woman is not affecting the world and making it just a tad better for the less fortunate. Saint Angie. Indeed

      • Amelia says:

        I think her motivation is that she is empathetic, kind and quite simply, gives a sh*t.
        I’ve always admired her humanitarian work. She doesn’t force her views on people and is more about the fundraising and raising awareness side. We need more celebs like her!
        *AHEM* looking at YOU KK…..

      • corny says:

        KK’s charity is KK, yet she gets all the publicity

      • Minimi says:

        you said it all! If publicity would be more doing good deeds and less flashing tits, get plastic surgery, new boyfriends, blablabla…then the world would be certainly a better place. Angelina Jolie is doing a great work and I think her commitment is admirable.

    • Violet says:

      Co-sign.

      I can’t understand why anyone would hate on her for trying to make the world a better place. No matter what her motivation — and I happen to believe she’s sincere — the bottom line is that she walks the talk.

      Mahatma Gandhi said it best: Action expresses priorities.

    • julie says:

      LOTS of rich people give huge amounts to charity for all different causes.. The difference between them and Angelina Jolie? She never takes a trip or donates a dime without feeding it to the press.

      Why does she have to announce every contribution? I think all her motives have two sides – the good and the calculated.

      • kendra says:

        Unfortunately I don’t actually know Angelina Jolie personally, she may do things out of the spotlight, as well. Which would mean we wouldn’t know about them unless she told us personally, right? Do you guys talk often?

        To me anyone who uses their fame to help the less fortunate is all good. Even if I don’t like their acting, music whatever… The only reason I’d ever want fame would be to use it to work for the greater good.

      • Emma says:

        Because Angelina is world famous. A photo of a random rich person in Syris would not generate the amount of awareness or buzz as a photo of Angelina aiding refugees in Syria. She knows that and uses her fame and power to bring that awareness.

      • Katherine says:

        Most large donations are publicized for specific audiences. Just because you didn’t read about a donation doesn’t mean it was quietly or anonymously given. I’m sure you are unaware of all the many donations that Jolie’s All Tribes Foundation distributed to Native Americans in the past. I am also sure we didn’t read about all the donations listed on the JP FOundation tax returns either.

        It is important that donations be made known – it helps the recipient organization and encourages other donors. That is charitable giving 101.

      • Freya says:

        She doesn’t announce every contribution. She is often the first to contribute to UNHCR’s projects. This I read in her fact sheet published by he UN HQ in Geneva, and often the recipient of a large donation is the one that announces the sum of money they have received and the name of the donor.

      • Freya says:

        During the trips she makes for the UN refugee agency, she is photographed with the refugees and a press release follows with pictures. It isn’t that she demands more publicity, it’s PART OF HER JOB, first as a goodwill ambassador and now as a special envoy.

    • Candance says:

      Just wondering… how many orphans can you buy for 100k?

      • original lucy says:

        The better question would be “how many orphans can you HELP with $100K…

      • Freya says:

        Last time she adopted, or as you would put it ‘bought,’ an orphan was 5 years ago.

  2. Catherine Paris says:

    Good for her, at least someone is trying to do something for others. Whether it’s for her own motives which I don’t beleive, it’s getting the message out.

  3. cmc says:

    I just don’t understand how people can criticize things like this. All other issues (real or invented) aside, she’s putting her money and time where her mouth is and genuinely working to help people around the world who are less fortunate. I think her actions are commendable. Wish more actors cared more, and came off positively (vs. Sean Penn who basically screams at us for not doing as much as he does).

    • you momma says:

      because haters gonna hate. i think the problem is that many celebs do charity works to boost their profile-but Angie, as previously stated, has been doing this for over 10 years and she started at the height of her fame, so its not like she needed the extra publicity.

      She also strikes me as someone who would do somthing because she wants to, because she doesnt give a damn about what others think. and her dedication to this cause as well as other causes she has promoted and donated too makes me give her so much respect. keep going Angelina!

    • YT says:

      Her charitable work is admirable. She spends a lot of time and energy helping others by getting publicity for their needs and causes. She does not need to make the donations for publicity. She only has to go for a walk with her children for publicity. The donations are very meaningful to those who receive them. I hope everyone here is sending a few dollars to a worthwhile charity too.

      • I agree with you. It makes me angry when people want to keep up the rivalry between her and Jenifer. Angelina like Brad is beautiful on the inside and the Outside. Jenifer only promotes Jenifer. Angelina far out classes Jenifer, no question.

    • truthSF says:

      Funny thing is, she’s been doing this since 2001, but the “it’s fake, and she’s only doing this for publicity” complaint didn’t start until 2005. I wonder why?

      • Rhea says:

        Ha!!! Good point!! People would then said that all of this is ONLY to make people forget about her past. As if she’s hiding her past! As if the only way for Angelina to be “real and genuine” is only one way. By not growing up and keep wrecking herself like Lohan.

      • Amelia says:

        I think she did Beyond Borders in ’05, which is when she got involved with her UN work.
        I think. I know that film was a motivating factor in her work with refugees, at least.

      • truthSF says:

        Amelia, Beyond Borders came out in ’03, 2 years after she joined UN.

      • lisa2 says:

        @truth

        the movie was still the driving force for her. She was scheduled to do the film then it was shelved or put on hold. She then decided to travel to the location the film was going to be in. She saw the situation then talked to the UN and traveled for over a year with them. Not many people knew about that. Then she was asked to work with them. So while her official work started after the film, she was involved with the organization long before that. She has said that Beyond Boarders was the key for her.

    • Beregorl says:

      (Unfortunately the browser doesn’t let me to answer Amelia and Lisa2, so I had to answer you.)

      Amelia:
      “I think she did Beyond Borders in ’05, which is when she got involved with her UN work.”

      lisa2:
      “She then decided to travel to the location the film was going to be in. She saw the situation then talked to the UN and traveled for over a year with them. Not many people knew about that. Then she was asked to work with them.”

      The movie you’re talking about is Tomb Raider which was shot in 2000 in Cambodia. The situation in that country made Jolie aware of the problem of refugees, and she became a member of the UNHCR in 2001 (she got her UN passport that year, you can check the photos in google or on fansites). Beyond Borders came two years later. It must’ve been an important experience, but she made that movie _because_ she was already involved in the UN, not the other way around. 🙂

      • Katherine says:

        I remember Angelina talking about researching for Beyond Borders much earlier and that the shooting of the film ended up being delayed. So I think that is correct that she started her interest earlier. Not sure when exactly she finally made the call to UNHCR or when she went to its library in DC to read up on the refugee issue or which came first.

        But what we do know is that she saw a problem and took it upon herself to become educated and then offer her assistance in whatever way she was needed. And she did that at a very young age. Certainly shows me that she was raised right and to be a decent and good person.

  4. Maguita says:

    She is bringing attention to issues we usually do not care about. Or tend to forget about.

    We are all preoccupied by our daily lives, but people in the public eye, yes, actors, singers, artists, who have an important fan-based following, make a bigger impression and bring better attention to humane causes like these.

    And whether Angelina had actually spent 1 hour of her time, or 1 week, it is bringing attention to a much deserved humane cause.

    Even if today I feel like I do not have much, I am so grateful for what I have, for obviously, I have so much more, and feel so much safer in my life than those poor refugees. So thank you.

  5. stacey says:

    Love & praise her dedication to the refugees

  6. Jackie O says:

    good cause. she looks like all kinds of hell in that top pic. get some sleep and eat a proper meal!

    • ramona says:

      I think it’s a great photo, actually – she’s got no makeup, she’s shiny, her hair’s pulled back in a messy ponytail – she doesn’t care how she looks, she’s there to listen and learn. I always kind of doubt the sincerity of those who go to various charitable events looking like they’re fresh from the Miss America pageant…

  7. Bradley says:

    It wasn’t even her own money. She is one phony bitch. Can’t stand her.

    • lisa2 says:

      Well if its not your money why do you care.

    • Rhea says:

      Interesting. How do you know for sure it’s not her money?? Are you holding her wallet and bank account??? 😀

    • Toot says:

      I know I’m crazy to ask and you should understand crazy just based off your post exposing yours, but who’s money was it?

    • spitfire says:

      What about you, did you even give two cents at all to the cause that you can comment so negatively?

      • Janet says:

        @Bradley: What do you mean, you don’t like to spend your money on losers? You spend it on yourself, don’t you?

    • Catherine Paris says:

      You all realise he’s just trying to get a reaction out of you. He’s not worth your typing and time.

      • lisa2 says:

        Yep he/or she or whatever posted another ugly comment on the Aniston post. Funny how they hope from place to place. little rabid rabbits.

        If a JP fan had called JA a bitch all hell would break loose. But I don’t recall anyone doing that or calling her those ugly names. Yeah and the JP fans are called loons..

      • I Choose Me says:

        That’s just what I was going to say Catherine. I don’t call anyone a troll lightly but please y’all don’t feed the troll.

      • Rhea says:

        I know that. But sometimes I just couldn’t resist to write back a comment when the post sounds hilarious and really defying the logic. 😀

  8. Toot says:

    Love her and her dedication.

  9. olivia says:

    And what solutions would that be, Ms.Jolie?? Can YOU list any number of solutions that might be of help?? Oh except, stop having wars. Like her “just be aware” campaign has no meaning whatsoever.

    • spitfire says:

      And you usual troll, what have you done in your lifetime to make a positive difference, even one-tenth of what Jolie has done? Am not a fan but it’s never easy or comfortable to go through all these voluntary work. Take a good look at yourself and tell us you are so much better than her as a volunteer, mind you, not a paid social worker.

    • pamela says:

      Don’t you get tired being so f*cking hateful all the time? Whose payroll are you on?

    • Rhea says:

      Olivia,we all know you hate Jolie. But do use some of your logic here. Putting all the responsibility ONLY to Jolie for finding the solutions for all the problems is beyond impossible.
      Think about it.

      There are way too many complicated problems in this world. No way one person alone can find a solution for all the complicated problems in this world. She is a human not a God. What we could do is being a part of the solution. By doing a charity, by being a volunteer, and many other things.

      It might seems generic, but it would give a hope to people in need. That they are not forgotten. That other people in this world still aware of the problems and still trying to help each other.

      It would give people a reason to keep finding the best solution, a way to make the world a better place. If people stop doing a good deeds, I’m sure the situations would definitely more worse. Now, I am asking you. What have you done to be a part of the solution???

  10. Mitch Buchanan Rocks! says:

    Well said awesome post Zelda 🙂

  11. Skinnybetch says:

    She’s an awesome person. . . She could just hang out in her beach house in Malibu, but she chooses to travel around in order to help people who are suffering, starving, and dying. It must be hard come face to face with that level of suffering and to not be able to fix it all.

  12. Jayna says:

    Angie isn’t just some spokesperson for her causes. She walks the walk not just talks the talk. She’s out there in the field. She studies the
    Issues. I see actresses on TV bringing attention to a campaign by a company like Avon for a cause like breast cancer awareness and there’s always a disclaimer at the end they are being paid to do it.

    You go, Angie.

  13. Jackie O says:

    i don’t understand why some jolie fans are so personally invested in her.

    i can certainly understand enjoying a celeb, but this level of attachment is so bizarre.

    i guess we see this with the twihards too.

    • Jan P says:

      +1
      Angie fans seem to think she is the second coming and those who dont agree are ‘haters’ who worship the anti angie Jen.
      Twihards have nothing on a Loon on a mission to convert a ‘hater’ to their way of thinking.

      • Toot says:

        I’m not trying to “convert” anyone and I don’t see any fans doing that. I state my view like others and keep it moving.

    • snob says:

      I can understand the fan, but certainly not understand why the non-fans are so personally invested in her

    • Maguita says:

      I am just giving you my point of view here. Especially following @snob’s comment in regards to non-fans.

      Never been a fan of neither Jolie nor Aniston. LOVED Jolie during the era of her first adoption, Maddox, where she very publicly assumed her sexuality, and her independence. Did not like her before. And certainly, not after.

      Aniston, LOVED her on friends. TV is where she belongs. She is sweet, and I never really paid attention that much to her outside of Friends.

      When I first started commenting here, the ATROCIOUS comments on the Aniston threads were mind boggling. And not knowing how things were done on CeleBitchy, well, of course, I took for the bullied side! The immense harshness towards Aniston, and more specifically how comments are driven here, if you are for one, therefore, you naturally become against the other. Comments do tend on certain threads to harshly escalate. Although, I do understand that a GOSSIP site thrives on opposing comments.

      This resulted in me siding with Aniston, against Angelina.

      But I stepped away, stopped commenting on either threads, because I wanted to keep my sanity, and stop feeling so dirty after reading certain readers’ opinion. Until last week.

      Now, if I can, I post my comment at the top, and sorry, but I stop myself from reading every negative comment. Sanity, again.

      I can now objectively state my opinion on BOTH actresses. And no matter what the Jolie is accused of, this, THIS post, what she is doing, is very commendable. And I applauded in #4. As a non-fan.

      I hoped I explained clearly how and why we become so obsessive and defensive Jackie! And sorry for the long post 🙂 .

      • Nicole says:

        There are many that feel the same way that you do.

        Its not so much the actresses themselves that many like/dislike, its their fan base.

        Both fan bases are so sanctimonious its sickening.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        EXACTLY Maguita. I never understand why the Jolie fan base uses the tactics they use because all it really does is alienate people who might be indifferent towards Jolie. I’m not afraid to stick up for Jolie (but I refuse to feed trolls). However, I find myself defending Aniston a lot, just because I feel people are so outrageously rude with comments directed towards her.
        The problem is that Aniston’s life is constantly viewed in the context of her (NON) relationship with the J-Ps. The main criticism of her being that she is “SO boring vapid etc” when really she is not any different than the majority of Hollywood actresses. The fact is that we compare her to Angelina Jolie, who has arguably the most fascinating off-screen life/personae of any actress in the history of Hollywood. Any average actress will seem “boring” in comparison. But yeah-I’m neither a fan (and not NOT a fan) of all three 🙂

        DISCLAIMER: Not to bring up the dreaded Triangle and take away from the point of the post-the commendable work Jolie is doing.

      • Janet says:

        Have you ever checked out any other web sites to see what Aniston’s fans said about Jolie?

        You won’t find such comments on this site because posting them would immediately get you banned. But on other web sites I have read literally hundreds of comments wishing death not only on Angelina but also on her children. And I won’t even go into the racist names they called her three adopted children.

        The vitriol has toned down considerably over the past few years as Aniston’s fans have gradually accepted that Brad Pitt is not going back to her and that he is happy with Angie and the kids. But between 2005 — 2008 the hate level toward Jolie was unbelievable. And it was mainly that which turned me off Aniston. What kind of celebrity attracts fans who wish death and make racist comments on innocent children?

        The mind boggles.

      • Tiegs says:

        @ Maguita, I’ve always felt mild indifference to both ladies, but agree that I sometimes defend Aniston because I feel there’s a definite bias on this website by the writers and the commentators. Jolie can do no wrong, and if she does (box office of ITLOBAH anyone?) it’s never mentioned on this site. Jennifer eats a salad and it’s a war crime.

        @ Janet, just curious, but why would you visit those sites? If they upset you, as they obviously do, then don’t go there.

        But using what is said on another website as fuel for your “Defend Jolie” campaign makes no sense to me at all. It seems really childish to drag all that hatred over here as an excuse to attack Jennifer Aniston, or defend Jolie, because most of us have never seen it.

      • Maguita says:

        Nicole, O.Kitten and Tiegs

        Thank you for maintaining a decent-engaging conversational tone, and respecting my desperate cry for sanity.

        Tiegs, it is true what you have said. BUT, it is the writers prerogative, on a gossip site, to give his/her opinion, not just present factually a story. That would be hardcore journalism, not gossip.

        I believe as a reader, you have the right to freely give the writer your opinion, and if the writer is open-minded and comfortable with diverse opinions, he/she would welcome the challenge. For a challenge to one’s opinion, is actually open-season for debate, which often leads to new views and a step forward in looking at something totally differently, under a new light.

        From pot to racism. With a pit-stop by Tampax. CB’s readers have such a diverse background, it’s happily mind-boggling.

        What is awesome about CeleBitchy, is that if you don’t like the comment, and CANNOT HANDLE feedback on your opinion, you can SCROLL THE F-CK DOWN. Which took me a while to understand, duh, seeing how intended I was on defending the abused.

        I believe though that you as the commentator, can set the tone by starting your own thread, defending your POV, and often more than not, attracting thus same like-minded people. Or at least, one hopes for people who can decently challenge your POV, with a modicum of respectful debate skills.

        Learning curve for me, started with a quest for sanity 😉

      • snob says:

        I can see your point of view. I watch most of Jennifer movies against 1 or 2 of Jolie’s . Mainly because I like light hearted rom com movies. I mainly go to Jolie’s thread because I find she has many interesting things like charity, the make up of her family (and I love Shiloh, what a little character she is). On top of that, she is articulate in what she want to do, to achieve. That is why I do not know what is negative in Aniston’thread, But I do know even from this site, there were name callings like ‘Whore’ ‘Home-Breaker’ ‘Concubine’, etc.
        Even her children are not spared either. So I do not blame the fans for being defensive. As for ITLOBAH box office, it is not a money making project. It main objective is to raise the rape, the war in Bosnia and I think it delivers.

      • Amelia says:

        Ehhh, I have issues with ITLOBAH. I thought it was a good film with a unique plot, but it’s terribly one sided and the Serbs are basically portrayed as caricatures. My dad was a NATO soldiers who served out there and was stationed in Belgrade helping the locals get to safety during the bombings. By all accounts they were lovely people who did not want war, only their government did, but they get all the flak for it. I’m not denying the Serbian gov were dreadfully behaved and the way rape was used as a weapon was despicable, but the Bosnians committed their fair share of war crimes too (I won’t go into specifics) and I think some people forget that.
        Sorry, off topic I know. I just feel like I should say something, I’ve been studying it all week at Uni 🙂
        But I think what AJ does for charity is very admirable.

      • Janet says:

        @Tiegs: My comment was in response to a post complaining about how horrible Jolie’s fans act toward Aniston. As I said before, the animosity of Jolie’s fans toward Aniston pales in comparison to the animosity of Aniston’s fans toward Jolie. As somebody mentioned, even on this thread, Jolie gets the “whore, home-wrecker” opprobrium, whereas most of the negativity I’ve seen toward Aniston is much more ridicule than genuine hate. People mostly make fun of her and laugh at her.

      • The point is you don’t know either one of them. All you know is what you read in the papers. When I read articles about Jenifer they are about her playing victim about losing Brad, which as you know, no woman can steal another woman’s man, Brad had a reason to go so he found what he thought was a better woman. Brad and Angelina appear to care about their fellow human beings and that is beautiful. I like stars who care about others rather than their own fame. As far as Jenifer is concerned, she lost Brad because she was competing with him and seemed not to want what he wanted. She made him unhappy. Jen is still promoting Jen. Now that she has another man, I hope fans and the press will let the rivalry drop.

      • Maguita says:

        *Hands tightly covering my ears*

        SOMEWHEEERE OOOVER THE RAIIIINBBOWWW, WAAAY UP HIIIIGH, THERE’S A LAND THAT I HEAARD OF ONCE IN A LULLABYYYY.

        *sigh* Wonder if the ladies of CeleBitchy had ever thought “f-ck it, if we can’t beat them, let’s join them.” How lovely to forget that on both threads, there was equal mud slinging.

        However, I do recall on a few Aniston threads, there were actual death wishes. Conclusively, both threads allow equal insanity opportunists. I guess fair is fair.

      • TheOriginalKitten says:

        @ Maguita-Haaa! Where is an impromptu marching band when you need one? Or I guess in this case, since it’s text, we would need the visual equivalent.

        🙂

        @Janet-everytime I point out the hate spewed towards Aniston (and I find it to be much much worse than people simply laughing at her) someone comes at me with “Well the stuff Jolie gets on other sites is worse” and I believe it but I wouldn’t know as I don’t frequent other sites. I guess I just need to always clarify that my POV is in regards to Celebitchy only.
        Regardless, I’m the first (well maybe not the first but..) to call people out when they start throwing around the homewrecker term or saying she’s veiny and anorexic etc etc.
        Regardless, I think the vitriol on either side comes from a lot of projecting. Meaning people who relate to Aniston like to spin her image as the scorned woman/victim and Jolie as the homewrecker. People who worship Jolie and want what she has like to spin Aniston as the pathetic, vapid loser who couldn’t make Brad happy. The likelihood is that in relaity both women are none of those things.

      • NM6804 says:

        I love Maguita’s posts :)!!!

        Can I just say that the Brangapologists should be happy that there are people with different (respectful) opinions and that they don’t need to be attacked but can open a healthy debate?

        This thread would be “cricket sound” inducing without non fans because everything besides her personal life doesn’t really sell and how many times can you write how great the Brange is or what a sweet family they have? It’s Boring and that’s why ALL gossip needs polarity. It’s fine on other threads so why not on JP threads?!

        Brangapologists kill juicy gossip with their behaviour. I too sided more with Aniston (I don’t even like her!) after a while because of the constant attacks whenever I offered a healthy opinion (as a fan, go figure) against JP’s PR tactics.

      • Mira says:

        I’ve often been tempted to defend Aniston here, but I haven’t because a) the hatred for Aniston is so fierce and atrocious that it’s futile to defend her b) many times I’ve skipped reading posts on JP and JA because you know where the argument is headed c) there is no space for expressing objective opinions on either JP or JA, it always has to be Team JP or Team JA. Having said that, I don’t read posts on JP or JA on other sites too, nor do I comment on those posts because I find the JP-hate on these sites just as ridiculous, appalling and grotesque. It would, however, be interesting to understand why fans get so invested in defending their favorite celebrity. I think after a point it becomes more about defending their position than defending the celebrity and there’s also an element of denial or choosing what one wants to believe is true of their favorite celebrity irrespective of what the reality is. That still does not explain the extreme positions taken by JP and JA fans. I mean, JA is not the only boring, shallow, and vapid person in Hollywood or outside of it. That line of argument against JA should be extended to most of them in Hollywood. That she plays the victim card to stay in news – well, everyone in the entertainment business across the world, especially actors, live off of an image. However, to rationalize and justify their behavior to defend your position of them or to defend what you believe of them is stretching it too far. For example, I have read arguments on threads here justifying Brad’s decision to leave/cheat on Jen because he was with a boring, self-absorbed, vapid, shallow woman who prefers sun tanning than having his babies. However, Johnny is an asshole for being senselessly bored with VP. Agreed, they are different situations involving different “types” of people (VP and JA), but the same line of argument can be made for both if we conveniently ignore all the other “variables.” That being said, I am NOT a fan of Jolie, Aniston or Brad, although when it comes to movies I prefer seeing Brad’s. I do, however, admire the philanthropic work done by JP.

        I actually wanted to comment on Jolie’s essay, but I got motivated to comment on the never ending JP-JA controversy after reading this thread. On Jolie’s essay – “the solutions are not exclusively humanitarian – they are also political.” The cause and solutions are always political and unfortunately the humanitarian comes within the political. Hence the escalating crisis worldwide and also why states and non-state actors are involved in a limited/selective manner in defusing the situation.

        Oh, what is hate is Chelsea Handler and her hypothesis on Jolie and her kids. This woman is really vile. And yes, I wish JA had stopped her from getting personal on Jolie and her kids.

      • Maguita says:

        Thank you Ladies for your healthy feedback (mostly 😉 ).

        @NM6804 “ALL gossip needs polarity”, EXACTLY THIS! That is the main frustration of those who were able to clearly express it here without resorting to mud slinging: We need to be able to express an opinion on AJ and BP, without fear of someone cutting in with a “death to JA!”

        Twitter had weirdly given people authorization to absolutely intolerable and socially unacceptable behavior: from hatred, rape threats, to death threats. People had lost touch with reality… Or rather, our new reality has last touch with decency..?

        Whatever the case may be, judicial system needs to catch on, and start applying the law equally to those making death threats, whether it be in person, over the phone, on a gossip site, or over your twitter account. I know, the task looks insurmountable, but start with a few public examples, and the rest will remember expected social behavior, in a civilized country no less!

        Until then, maybe I’ll see on top of some of those threads, discussing the real subject at hand, as long as we can uninterrupted.

        Thank you again… And… No, I will not say it. I will not pull on Brangeloony tail, maybe some other time on some other crazy thread 😉 .

      • Minimi says:

        Hi Maguita!
        Actually I have the opposite opinion. When I started reading this blog I didn’t have much of an opinion about Aniston. I thought she was a plain actress that does some comedy movies with a lot of success. I also didn’t have much love for Angelina. I still don’t think she is that much of a great actress although I think she has an interesting way of living her life.
        After watching so many comments bashing Angelina for everything that she does, I really started to feel more sympathetic towards her. In this case, I think she is really the bullied one. The only difference is that she doesn’t seem to care.
        I don’t like the bashing on Aniston either. Still I find it easier to have something nice to say to someone that spends a big part of her time doing good deeds than to someone that seems to live in a continuous stream of SPA’s, beaches, and parties…So in the end, if I come to this thread and I see people saying nasty things, that will annoy me not because it’s Angelina but because we are talking about awareness towards important issues. If I go to a Aniston post and people say that her boyfriend looks orange…well, I don’t really care.

      • Maguita says:

        @Minimi, That was very clearly and kindly stated. Loved how you expressed your opinion and feelings on the subject… Without losing your sh-t!

        One thing, you do though realize that this site exclusively covers Angie’s good deeds, and never JA who is very much involved in helping local hospitals, and more specifically, local children’s hospitals? Not to take away from Angie’s international work and coverage, but some people still give, away from the cameras.

        I think in this case it could be a tad like Fox News; If you only watch Fox News to get your coverage on politics, well, after a while, no matter your IQ level and openness to diversity, because of constant positive promotion of any good deed of only one side, and misrepresenting any deeds as shallow and self-serving on the other side, brainwashing naturally occurs.

        You start believing that one is a savior, and the other is a commi from Kenya. I prefer much more commenting here than on any other site, the community is fantastic, but like in all things, a balance in knowledge is much healthier, especially long-term.

        And please, let us not forget, we are talking about Hollywood actors here. No matter their good deeds, at the end, we will all understand that at the peak of their stardom, they were all quite shallow and self-serving. That might change with age, but experience dictates that to thrive in such an environment, you’ve got to be vicious and look out for number 1: Yourself.

  14. Fyofeelings says:

    What do get is how do you hate on someone for doing a good thing regardless of her motives at least she’s bringing attention to something that people ignore because she really have to do it.

    But people who claim they hate her sure do love commenting on post about her though. *shrugs*

  15. Trish says:

    one cannot fake the look of compassion on her face in the first photo…. she’s found her way and purpose using her celebrity to help others…

  16. Paige says:

    The hate for angelina jolie is ten times worse than any hate for jen aniston there are sites dedicated dedicated to bashing her and every aspect of her life. Some of you must not have heard of
    female first, People.com, IUC, and D-listed. It is full of sick and psychotic people that
    hate her for everything she does. There are few sites besides Celebitchy and crazy JJ that has angelina
    fans. The hate on those sites is 10x worse than any hate thrown at Jen aniston on this site
    or any others. the hate for angelina is unbelivable, sickening, and disturbing. The people
    that are sick of her comment the most or as nearly as much as her fans do. Olivia,
    bradley, and Jackie O are rabid Angelina jolie haters. You are so sick of her and
    everything that comes out of you mouth is negative but the people
    that are sick of her comment the most or as nearly as much as her fans do. rant over

    • spinner says:

      Time for bed.

    • Kyrie says:

      @ Paige +1
      Love Angelina, never understood the hate towards her. She is a lot more hated then Aniston…but a lot more talented and charitible and(I think) likable. But to each their own I guess. I just don’t understand hate.

    • Emma says:

      I agree. Over the years I have read the most despicable things said about Angelina. That she’s a whore, people saying her mom dying is what she gets for being a homewrecker, that her father hates her, death threats, prayers that she dies so her children grow up motherless, prayers that her entire family dies, racist slurs toward her children, people making fun of the twins and saying they look ‘retarded’, saying they hoped Zahara has aids, saying Shiloh is a stupid dyke, etc. It’s actually disgusting and I don’t know why these haters dedicate so much of their time to hating her. They have google alerts on her and post everything and then dissect it to make it seem bad. These people are legit CRAZY. With that said, Aniston does get her share of hate. Neither woman deserves it.

  17. pamela says:

    The extreme hatred towards Angelina by her rabid fans was fueled by the infamous 2005 VF interview,and was encouraged over the years by Aniston’s veiled references and comments against Angie in her interviews. THAT is why Angie’s fans like myself call her out on her crap. I don’t hate her, as I try not to hate anyone, especially someone who in no way impact my livelihood. But we do detest her media shenanigans and manipulations. Angie since her 2006 Vogue interview, has NEVER alluded to her, and IF Aniston had conducted herself as SB and NK had done, all of this rancor would have ended. But she basically wanted to destroy both Brad and Angie professionally and personally. Too bad for her it didn’t work. And because of her actions I will never like Aniston.

  18. Kyrie says:

    I agree with Aniston keeping it going and trying to continue to look like the victim and use it to her advantage. Which is kind of hypocritical and sad because she’s just as guilty of being a homewrecker with that Justin guy lol.

  19. julie says:

    While the work and donations are wonderful, there is this nagging feeling that everything and i mean everything she does is for her image. Years ago in an interview she even admitted that alot of things she does is to try to erase the image of the blood-wearing psycho freak.
    It’s worked well for her. She does nothing without full media coverage.

    • Emma says:

      She has never said that and please. She’s been doing this type of work for almost 15 years. She puts herself in great harm by going to countries in the middle of a war. Countries where journalists and foreign visitors are taken and killed. She’s a damn fool for doing all that she does and for as long as she has just for her image.

    • pamela says:

      “Years ago in an interview she even admitted that alot of things she does is to try to erase the image of the blood-wearing psycho freak”.

      I dare you to provide the link to the “interview” where Angie said this.I wish people would stop making up stories about this woman just to justify criticizing her.

    • Gloriana says:

      +1. She’ s dedicated for sure but I too doubt her true intentions…

    • Sal says:

      Years ago in an interview she even admitted that alot of things she does is to try to erase the image of the blood-wearing psycho freak.
      ________________________________

      I can assure you there is no such interview that exists. You made that up on the spot.

  20. Runs with Scissors says:

    pamela says:
    June 21, 2012 at 1:47 pm

    The extreme hatred towards Angelina by her rabid fans was fueled by the infamous 2005 VF interview,and was encouraged over the years by Aniston’s veiled references and comments against Angie in her interviews. THAT is why Angie’s fans like myself call her out on her crap.
    I don’t hate her, as I try not to hate anyone, especially someone who in no way impact my livelihood. But we do detest her media shenanigans and manipulations.
    Angie since her 2006 Vogue interview, has NEVER alluded to her, and IF Aniston had conducted herself as SB and NK had done, all of this rancor would have ended.
    But she basically wanted to destroy both Brad and Angie professionally and personally. Too bad for her it didn’t work.
    And because of her actions I will never like Aniston.
    ************************************
    THIS. Completely agree. Aniston could have called the dogs off Jolie and their children (any decent person would have) but she didn’t, she only encourages it.

  21. skuddles says:

    Good for her – I have much admiration and respect for Angelina.

  22. Jovia says:

    Beautiful is as beautiful does? That said, the woman is physically beautiful. Kudos for her good works in the here and now.

  23. Carolyn says:

    Team Ange. At least she’s doing something. To those critcising the publicity she brings….if there wasn’t cameras or people talking about awful things happening in the world we wouldn’t know about it. We’d be left to think botox, facelifts, skin peels and new skincare campaigns were really really important to one’s existence.

  24. cameron says:

    Oh please! spare us the violins how you became a JA fan because of the Jolie fans being so hostile towards her..

    Don’t fall for it. They are trolls in disguise.

    These people never amazes me.
    First of all , JA should never be compared to Angie. So completely different women. JA to maybe Cameron Diaz or a kate Hudson. Angie to no modern day actress but perhaps Audrey Hepburn.

  25. LittleDeadGirl says:

    Makes me happy to see she’s still stuck to such a great cause and she has proven it hasn’t been a stunt or for publicity. You don’t see her releasing one of these messages once a year and that’s it. She’s always going from country to country, donating time and money, and raising awareness. Also she’s not a douchebag about it (hint hint Sean Penn)

  26. the original bellaluna says:

    No matter your opinion of AJ, what she’s doing is highly commendable. $100K and the attention she’s bringing to the situation is NOT “nothing.”

    Look at all the displaced people in Africa – some of them have been living in camps OUTSIDE the camps for 10 years or more!

    Good on her.

  27. Emme says:

    I love Angelina Jolie. I think she’s a beautiful person on the inside and out. And though her motive may be questioned when her charity is publicized, the publicity serves a greater purpose – it’s to make everyone aware of these issues and organizations that need assistance. I also can’t stand it when people discredit Angelina Jolie because they think she stole Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston. Brad Pitt is a person, not an object and, as a result, can’t be stolen. What’s more, a single act of indiscretion doesn’t negate all of the wonderful things she has done and continues to do.

  28. dee says:

    That’s pocket change for her. She keeps trying to buy her way out of being a skank.

  29. foozy says:

    LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS WOMAN. SHE’S INCREDIBLE. WISH HER ALL THE LUCK INT HE WORLD

  30. Guesto says:

    Go Angie.

    It’s plain as day that this is what gives her life heart and soul and no amount of infantile, bilious, begrudging shit-stirring can make a dent in that particular reality.

    Kudos and respect to her for keeping the refugee flag flying high.

  31. Dave Thomas says:

    Really? Who cares about the third world countries…We need to start worrying about the problems in our own backyards…Poverty and homelessness are rampant…Angie should stop adopting these foreign regions and focus on her own…after all, It’s North America paying to see her movies, making her rich…not somalia, or some other country we can’t pronounce properly