Celebs open their wallets in White House race, mostly for Obama
(CNN) - Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman made headlines recently for his sizable $1 million contribution to a pro-Obama super PAC, but he's hardly the only celebrity who cut a check in support of a presidential hopeful.
Members of the entertainment industry have a long history of sending money to their preferred presidential candidates, usually but not exclusively to Democrats. Below is a non-comprehensive list of some of the celebrities past and present who made a donation in May or June to the major political committees involved in the 2012 race for the White House.
OBAMA CAMPAIGN:
Actors & Actresses
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights): $3250 in June, $5000 to date
Sam Waterston (Law and Order): $2250 in June, $5000to date
Ian Somerhalder (Lost, Vampire Diaries) : $2500
Olivia Wilde (House MD, Cowboys & Aliens) : $2500
Johnny Galecki (Roseanne, Big Bang Theory): $2500
Maria Bello (Prime Suspect): $2500
Ronald Guttman (Mad Men): $2075 in June, $4825 to date
Tyne Daly (Cagney & Lacey): $2000
Susan Saint James (Kate & Allie, McMillan & Wife): $2000
Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men): $1000 in June, $2000 to date
Taraji P. Henson (Benjamin Button): $1850
Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation): $1000
Aisha Tyler (The Talk co-host): $1000
Directors
Rob Minkoff (The Lion King): $2500
Musicians
Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz: $2500
Peter Frampton: $2500 to Obama campaign
Toni Tennille of The Captain and Tennille: $1000 in June, $2000 to date
Yvonne Staples of The Staples Singers: $1000 in June, $2000 to date
OBAMA VICTORY FUND:
Bette Midler: $50,000 in June, $60,000 to date
Martin Von Haselberg (actor, Midler's husband): $50,000
Billy Crystal: $40,000
Kirk Douglas: $40,000
Robert Downey, Jr.: $40,000
Eddie Murphy: $40,000
Tom Hanks: $35,800 (in May)
Rita Wilson: $35,800 (in May)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights): $27,500
Anne Hathaway (Dark Knight Rises): $25,000
Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween, Trading Places): $2000 in June, $14,000 to date
Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland): $2500
Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl): $1500 in June, $2500 to date
Bridget Fonda (Jackie Brown): $600 in June, $2000 to date
Tate Donovan (Damages, The O.C.): $125 in June, $1622 to date
Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live): $500
Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, GCB): $500
Topher Grace (That 70s Show): $500
Bernadette Peters (The Jerk): $250
PRIORITIES USA (pro-Obama super PAC):
Morgan Freeman (Dark Knight Rises, Million Dollar Baby): $1 million
ROMNEY CAMPAIGN:
John Rich (Country singer, Celebrity Apprentice winner): $2500
ROMNEY VICTORY FUND:
Film producer Jerry Bruckheimer and wife: $25,000
Scott Baio (Arrested Development, Happy Days) and wife: $12,500
Vince McMahon (Pro. wresting exec.) & Linda McMahon (CT Senate hopeful): $9910
RESTORE OUR FUTURE (pro-Romney super PAC):
Vince McMahon (Pro. wresting exec.) & Linda McMahon (CT Senate hopeful): $150,000K
- Follow Robert Yoon on Twitter: @robyoon
i think all off are idiot . there is nothing anyone can do . obama will win 2012 . if you want to bet , pls put your life on it
It is so funny reading the posts of the followers of Oboma. It is like watching the movie "The Mummy" where all the blind followers of Hemotept (sp?). They all recited "Hem-ooo-tept" over and over. The followers did not know why, they just followed. Question boldly every leader, that is what will keep us free. Yes, I and others questioned GHW Bush, and GW Bush as well. Because we are not blind followers. Now most businesses are looking at droping health care, because it will cost so much. Reason, it will be cheaper on the businesses to let the fed's take care of health care, but our taxes will still go up with those 21 new taxes.
A whos who of out of touch left wing militant democrats.
That's absolutly fantastic!!!!! Even actors know that Mitt is full of "Phoney Baloney" when it comes to politics.
Move Forward. Obama/Biden 2012
I am SO disappointed in Jerry Bruckheimer...I used to love his movies...oh well
to wake up people-glad you are employed again. We(college educated) went through the same
thing after all of Bush's deregulation. The bank CEO's needed 7 planes each more than we all
needed our jobs. You can't tell a GOP that you really are educated and you really do work twice
as much as they do. that is a great big no no. and they think they are the job creators. funny.
Nobody want s to be associated publicly with Romney.
The Koch brothers et al are going to have to buy him some friends while they are attempting to buy him th White House.
Pathetic pussilanimous pariah.
Obama 2012. Seriously America.
It's well and fine to support the President if you support his policies,as I do. However, it won't do much good it you don't support and VOTE for Democratic Representatives in the House and Senate. And for "Wilson," I would say that supporting Democratic principles of equality, justice, and liberty is not a matter of following blindly. It's a matter of researching the facts and not accepting blindly what either side of the debate tells us. Insurance companies can participate in exchanges to get business they might not have had before. Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans project a cost savings of more than. $340 billion over the next 10 years. Small businesses & tax exempt organizations are projected to save costs and/or cover workers they were unable to cover before due to tax incentives.
Correction: Pathetic pussilanimous political pariah.
Wouldn't his $1 million be better spent on providing jobs for some of the nearly 50% unemployed black youth in the inner city? Obama sure hasn't done anything for them.
A lot of top names missing whom we know support President Obama.
A LOT.
Another Celebrity to contribute to the OBAMA camp is Lord Barrington Augustus Marson. Yea BABAY, yes BABAY.. Beat that phony like a base drum..
@Woman in CA – I have a job and I do quite well for myself and my family but unlike the politicians, I am responsible with MY money and hate to see MY money go to waste – which, you cannot deny – the government (at all levels) is full of. I'm tired of it. Obama said he'd "change" things and he's only made it worse. That crack in the damn when Bush left office is now a full fledged, gaping hole. African Americans have falsely put hope into this charlatan president thinking/believing that he'll somehow make "their" lives better – the facts show that he has made their lives worse: higher poverty; higher unemployment; lower graduation rates; lower college attendance rates; higher crime rates; higher incarceration rates; higher poverty rate – you name it. Every single demographical split shows that African Americans are far worse off under Obama than any other president in modern times.
Forgot to add Bill Maher. Wasn't he the first to make a major donation to Obama PAC
It is good to support Obama, but Do these people will register and go to vote, that is the question. Everybody needs to vote, otherwise the GOP will take over this country like in 2010!!!! Go Register and VOTE People!
Liberal Hollywood loves Obama and this is news because???? That's like stating the religious right is now supporting Romney... I mean seriously, some things are obvious. Hollywood wants influence, status, and star power, Obama is a Celebrity in his own right, so natural fit. However I must state that Hollywood scares the He!! out of me when it comes to pushing agendas, so please take the "contributions" with a grain of salt.
Oh and to Dominican mama 4 Obama, this is not a complement. Scientologists also wanted to infiltrate Hollywood to appear more mainstream. And Hollywood does not have a track record of creating reasonable, grounded, stable families. So please spare us your oh how cool we are it must mean we're right mentality.. smoking was once really popular to.
Is anyone surprised that most of Hoolywood supports Obama? They support everything that's immoral.
FORWARD into the Obama FISCAL ABYSS: To make a statement like the one you posted here is evidence that you see thing one sided. Why is it that because a black man like Morgan Freeman gave $1,000,000 to the Obama campaign that he should have given it to young black kids. Like our President, he can see beyond the racial lines that the GOP seem to want to keep drawing in this country. Forums like this really bring out the "true" colors in people!
@Rudy NYC - I meant to put the top 1% of the 1%, but 99% is correct. Shame on me for trying to be nice – LOL
Under Obama my small business has grown and thrived, and just today I hired my first employee. I don't have a million dollars to donate, but I'll give what I can because I think we're way better off with him than with Romney, who I'm not confident will help grow the middle class.
I can't imagine giving $1M to any politician, Republican or Democrat. They will just use it for attack ads that further divide the country. Think how much more that money could help a charity...
A very well known respected latina has announced her support for president Obama.. She is sort of like Oprah. She is well known for her tv shows called Cristina. This is news because she has never publicly supported any candidate before.. All I can say to her & every well known artist who support president Obama is, Thank you!
@Jmaz...And how many black people do you know??? Like I said before, every member of my family is gainfully employed again, just like we were before Bush ran this country into the ground. Yes there are many of all races that are still unemployed but to ASSUME we are only voting for President Obama because he is black is LUDICROUS. I have voted in every election since I was 19 and never wanted to vote for any black candidate before 2008. We vote for President Obama because he is a very intelligent man and a great leader. He has faced nothing but obstruction and disrespect for the past 3-1/2 years but he has prevailed. I will never vote for a republican
All these posts of hate and lies are paid for by the GOP. They just can't tell the truth. It is agains the GOP principals. They have to say some off the wall stuff just to make it sound like they really did care. It is all a game of try and discredit the President.