Comedians Are Raising Money for the George Floyd Protests With Nudes

Several comedians are raising money for Black Lives Matter and other groups needing support during the George Floyd protests by sending nudes to strangers in exchange for donations.

Comedian Sammy Mowrey—who co-hosts the comedy show and podcast Femmes the Rules—posted a Twitter thread on Wednesday saying if anyone donated $25 or more to Black Lives Matter or another organization of their choice, they would send them a topless photo. The picture would only be sent with a receipt confirming the donation.

People quickly started to reply. In one day Mowrey raised over $6,000.

Other performers followed Mowrey’s lead. DeAnne Smith, who recently had a Netflix special, said they raised over $30,000 by sending topless photos, and writer and producer Courtney Kocak got $4,000 in donations for her pics.

Comedian Keith Carey said anyone who donated could receive a picture of his erect or flaccid penis, depending on their preference. Carey would match any donations up to $500.

Comedian Diego Lopez posted a joke saying people were only allowed to send him nudes if they donated $25 dollars or more to Black Lives Matter. Lopez said he brought in over $1,500 with the post.

Mowrey has been sharing posts from people participating in their donations for nudes campaign on Twitter, encouraging people to “be horny for justice.,”

“I’m unemployed and wasn't able to donate as much as I wanted to. This was a way to basically encourage people to donate to the many organizations that need it right now,” Mowrey told VICE.

However, the tactic has drawn some criticism online for being a distraction from the real issues and promoting sexy selfies during a traumatic time period.

Mowrey doesn’t want the stunt to diminish the seriousness of the protests and the need for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I hope people focus on the protests and police brutality rather than just the nudes,” said Mowrey. ”I had a lot of men in my DMs saying that this was the thing that got them to donate, or it made others repeat donors,” she said.

She estimates the comedians have raised about $45,000 so far for BLM, the Minnesota Freedom Fund and other bail bond funds, the Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund, and many more racial justice organizations.

Raising money for social causes by sending nudes has been a popular trend for a while now. Earlier this year sex workers raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for sexy photos in support of fighting Australia's Bush fires. Los Angeles Model Kaylen Ward—who dubbed herself "The Naked Philanthropist"—estimated that she raised over a million dollars for wildfire relief after her post offering nudes for donations went viral in January. Mowrey attributes her idea of nude pictures for donations to Ward’s activism.

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