Penn raised $745,000 in less than 50 hours after he was told “you don’t belong in this country you f****** joke” by a troll on Instagram.
NEW DELHI – In a brilliant example of turning racist hate into meaningful action, popular Indian American actor Kal Penn launched a fundraising campaign to aid Syrian refugees after being asked to leave the US by an online troll.
Penn raised $745,000 in less than 50 hours after he was told “you don’t belong in this country you f****** joke” by a troll on Instagram.
Soon after getting the hateful message, Penn launched a fund raising drive for the Syrian refugees.
“To the dude who said I don’t belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name,” Penn tweeted on Saturday.
The funds raised would go to the International Rescue Committee.
“We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don’t belong in our own country, that America can’t be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigotry, along with the President’s, into love,” the home page of the fund raising campaign reads.
Kalpen Suresh Modi, better known as Kal Penn, was born to Indian parents in New Jersey. He’s starred in several popular TV shows like House M.D. , How I Met Your Mother and the Harold and Kumar movies. He was also appointed as a public engagement adviser to former President Barack Obama.
The actor said he was pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming response to his fundraiser.
“Continue to show the world the American people care very much for everybody, especially refugees contrary to what our current administration is now trying to do in our names,” Penn said in a video before adding, “What a beautiful way to resist and to show love.”
On Sunday, Penn thanked the donors on his crowdfunding page.
“This is such a testament to how proud we are of our beautiful country and how fired up we are to resist our new President’s dangerous policies with solidarity and love. Thank you! The donor page remains open, so keep it up!”
Penn was referring to US President Donald Trump’s executive order that halted a US refugee program for 120 days, barred Syrian refugees indefinitely, and imposed entry restrictions on people from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.
