Lizzo teams up with FOMO Festival to raise funds for devastating Australian wildfire crisis

As the wildfires blaze across Australia, signifying a global natural catastrophe, Lizzo wants to spread awareness of how important what's happening is to everyone on the planet

Blue Telusma

Jan 6, 2020

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As the horrific Australian fires rage on, having already killed 23 people and approximately 500 million animals, singer Lizzo is pleading with her 7.2 million followers to do their part and help out.

According to an Australian music website MusicFeeds, the singer is currently on the continent’s East Coast in Queensland as part of her world tour and has joined the chorus of celebrities seeking to bring international attention to the crisis.

In that vein Lizzo and FOMO Festival have teamed up to throw an event to raise funding for the numerous charities and organizations in the area working to directly address the fires.

The widespread blaze has covered 14.5 million acres, reportedly three times the area that burned in California in 2018. States of emergency and disaster have been declared in the areas most affected. Scientists say that the problem is indicative of climate change because weather patterns caused by global warming have helped to intensify the fires.

In a video posted on her Instagram stories, Lizzo held onto a stuffed koala while sharing a heartfelt message explaining why this isn’t just an Australian issue but actually a global crisis.

“Being over here in Australia has really given me a real time view into what’s happening with these devastating fires and for all of my followers who are mostly American, I just want to say that this is a global crisis,” she began. “I don’t want to politicize anything. This isn’t a political issue at this point, this is a human issue.”

“I think sometimes we have a really micro almost nationalist view of what’s going on and I think sometimes you look at something that’s happening in another country you automatically go ‘Oh, well, you know that’s not going to happen to us, that’s not our problem, that’s another country,'” she continued. “But we’re all connected on this planet. This is the Earth and we share this as a home. You know it’s almost like in your neighborhood you see somebody’s car getting broken into across the street and you like, ‘Oh, that’s not my problem,’ but who’s to say your car isn’t next. This is all of our problem, this is our neighborhood. We share this.”

While she made a request for donations, she also acknowledged that those who don’t have the financial ability to donate money can still do their part by spreading awareness.