The ALS Ice Bucket challenge continues to steam-roll through popular culture, cluttering up everyone’s timelines and inspiring countless think pieces and rants, all while raising over forty million dollars for ALS research and support, which is tremendously awesome and everyone can just shut the f*ck up about how annoying the ice bucket challenge is because it’s WORKING. The ALS Association reports that in the same frame last year they’d raised only $2 million, so this is a huge windfall that will actually help fund the vital research needed to find treatments, therapies, and hopefully one day, a cure. If you’d like to donate, you can do so here (US) or here (Canada).
The unintended side effect of the Ice Bucket Challenge is that it’s giving celebrities the opportunity to be cute, entertaining, and perhaps even likeable. I mentioned to Lainey a few days ago that Ben Affleck’s video made me like him, and Jennifer Garner, more than ever. Chris Evans finally put out his video and it’s adorable. Tom Hiddleston, who really knows his audience, did his in slow-motion while wearing a white tee shirt.
But they can all go home now because Benedict Cumberbatch, a spokesperson for the MND Association (Britain’s ALS organization) has done his video, answering Hiddleston’s challenge, and it is the best of the celebrity videos so far. First, he makes a point of mentioning how to donate, an important step many videos skip, and then he does the challenge five times—once while naked. I’m pretty sure all of Tumblr is in a coma right now. I hope this keeps going until we descend into a nation-wide water fight, which seems to be John Krasinski’s goal, too.
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