Eva Longoria slams ‘focus on rich celebrities’ amid LA wildfires
Topics: Celebrity
Ben Thompson
Featured Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images/DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity
Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria has criticised the 'focus on rich celebrities' during the Los Angeles wildfires.
From 7 January, fires have sprung across LA county and have destroyed numerous people's homes and businesses, with two in particular, Palisades and Eaton, being regarded as the most devastating.
According to a map from CBS, the Palisade fire has burned over 22,000 acres of land, while Eaton has destroyed 13,993.
Officials have also reported the death toll as being 25 confirmed victims, with the numbers estimated to rise.
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Many LA residents have been forced to evacuate as their homes have been destroyed, including a few A-listers, with many taking to social media to issue statements and share footage.
With a lot of coverage focusing on affected celebrities, Eva Longoria has since addressed this, calling it 'irritating'.
While co-hosting Jenna and Friends with Jess Bush Hager on the Today Show, the actor spoke of the community spirit she'd witnessed in the city.
"Everybody is helping, everybody is donating, everybody is out in the streets – where the fires are still going, there are people with water hoses." she said, adding that she was 'proud' to see it in the 'city she's called home for 25 years'.
Bush Hager then pointed out something Longoria had said earlier about the misconception around LA being primarily full of 'famous people' to which she replied saying it was 'irritating' that the focus has been 'rich celebrities homes are burning'.
Longoria continued: "Los Angeles is a working class city, it’s union town, a lot of union members.
"We keep talking about Pacific Palisades fire (but) the Altadena (and) Pasadena fires (there) is a huge community of colour.
"We have to have more humanity and grace. Anybody in the media and anybody out there, they need to be careful with their words, because we need to make sure we’re talking about everybody suffering right now."
She also spoke what will happen once the fires have been put out.
"Once we get a hold of these fires, once we put out these fires, what comes next?" she asked. "Where do these kids go to school? How do parents go back to work if their kid isn't in school?
"Insurance - there's so much to work through."
Longoria's foundation have pledged $1 million to support the Latino Community Foundation and the California Community Foundation's wildlife recovery fund.
The John Wick star also donated clothes and 'emptied out her pantry' to help victims, saying in a video on Instagram (via The Independent): "A lot of people weren’t so lucky."
Longoria isn't the only person to speak out about the fires as Christina Applegate also addressed comments saying it's 'good' that 'stupid Hollywood people' are being affected.