Comic greats Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock are bringing the funny for a charitable cause. Next month, Murphy and Rock will join Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, and Keenan Thompson for the “Feeding America Comedy Festival.”
The brainchild of media mogul Byron Allen, the three-hour special will stream on Comedy.TV and The Weather Channel and free streaming app, Local Now, reports Vibe.
The aim of the festival — which is set to be packed with some of the funniest legends in Hollywood — is to help heal the world with laughter and encourage viewers to donate to Feeding America.
“In partnership with Feeding America, my comedian friends and all of us at Allen Media Group are pleased to announce this global live-streaming comedy event on May 9th,” Allen said in a statement. “Laughter is often the best medicine, and we are extremely motivated to bring attention to issues of food insecurity, and to assist in providing meals to families across the country who are financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Feeding America is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks. In light of recent school closures and unemployment, the nonprofit organization is on the front lines of relieving households of hunger.
“The coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn it has created is shining a light on the fragile nature of people’s household budgets,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, a nationwide network of 200 food banks. “Millions more of our neighbors are turning to food banks for help and we cannot thank Byron Allen and Allen Media Group enough for their support to raise funds and awareness of our work.
Other celebrities scheduled to appear include Taraji P. Henson, Marlon Wayans, Margaret Cho, Jamie Kennedy, and Sheryl Underwood.
Catch the premiere on Saturday, May 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
