The Shilo World Debut
Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, at the tender age of 15 days, is already changing our world. She is dominating our discussions, she is captivating an international audience, and she is helping to further cement her parents" status as the reigning Zeus and Hera of a Land called Celebrity. Much more so than her Scientological counterpart Suri Cruise, who has yet to be strategically product placed and who is becoming more urban legend and less flesh and bone with each passing day. But I digress. We were talking about the latest Little Pitt. And we were talking about the frenzy she has inspired, in addition to the multi million dollar donation her exclusive photos have generated for worthy agencies in her home continent.
But, as you would expect from everything they do, the Shiloh Photo Foundation has been a polarising issue with everyone from my best friend Erin - who very rarely ventures an opinion on Hollywood gossip - to that old bag Liz Smith weighing in on whether or not selling the baby pics constituted class or just plain crass.
Me personally? Well, since I"ve previously ragged on others like Demi & Ashton and Zeta & Michael for doing the same thing, I clearly prefer the low key way others have gone about their baby business, without the drama of a distribution agency and a magazine bidding war resulting in threats and lawsuits over leaked photos. Oh, and did I mention People Magazine has lovely lawyers who send out the most friendly emails and warnings? Just asking…
Having said that, as someone who has worked in major gift fund development for the better part of a decade, I will always be in love with Angelina Jolie for pledging 30% of her earnings in perpetuity to charitable causes. Most corporations donate less than 2% of their annual net - if that - while shareholders sit on obscene profit margins in the comfort of their Aspen chalets. So yes, BAMZS fans, I do think your idol IS setting a fantastic example and yes, it"s too frickin" bad there aren"t more people like her.
But you know what would have been better? You know what would have quelled the criticism and what they should probably do next time? Two magic words, y"all. Two magic words that would make anyone in fund development cream his/her panties. The two sexiest words you could ever say to a non profit organisation. You ready for it?
MATCHING MONEY.
And there you have it, gossips. At the end of the day - this is what would have made the situation absolutely perfect. And hey - maybe it happened afterall. Maybe Brad and Angelina did match People and Hello dollar for dollar. But given the fact that these two almost always publicise their contributions, including the recently announced $300,000 gift to Namibian programs and a pledge for future funding for social initiatives, I"m thinking we might have heard about it already if they had offered up an equal sum for the price of their family photos.
In their defence, however, perhaps they"ve never heard of the concept? A very distinct possibility indeed, which is a travesty for someone like Angie who rolls with the UN. Obviously the Pitts need a fundraising consultant on the payroll. And did I mention I am so totally available?
Dear Mr & Mrs Pitt:
Matching money attracts more money. If you promise to match every donation with an equal donation of your own, people will be inspired to give more because they will know that the impact of their gift will be doubled. Take Covenant House Vancouver, for example. During the month of June, our anonymous donor will match every dollar with a dollar of his own - and when you consider that People Magazine paid $4.1 million for Shilo"s photos, can you imagine how much more the as yet unnamed charitable organisation would have benefitted if you had announced a matching donation for the successful bidder(s)???
Maybe next time, ok? Because we hear you plan to birth many, many more Messiahs resulting in many, many more photo opportunities. And the more children you have, the more money the other, less fortunate children will receive. Please think about it. And should you need more philanthropic guidance, please feel to contact me at [email protected].
Finally, click here to watch the breathtaking Angelina and her beautiful bountiful mommy breasts discussing Namibia and Refugee Day and future plans. Nothing you haven"t heard her say before but the best part of the video is the teeth grinding expression on her face when Brad starts talking. Just an observation but it looks like she"s suppressing an eye roll - the same thing I do when my husband is going off ad nauseum about his bad beats on the poker table. I"m sure she adores him as much as we all adore our life partners but in every relationship, there are times when the sound of that person"s voice just grates on your last nerve. And given that his only other contribution during this interview consisted of an unintelligible grunt, I"m going to assume that while Brad truly is the manly man about the house, Angie probably wants to the official mouthpiece duties to remain in her realm - a very good move, don"t you think?
Update: thanks to Pamela for the link. Apparently these are photos of Madd and Z taken over the weekend in Malibu. As you can, Zahara is walking!
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