Red Nose Day 2019: How Does It Work, Why Is It Being Criticized?
May 23 is Red Nose Day in the United States.
March 15 was Red Nose Day in the United Kingdom.
Both are charity events involving red foam noses sold as part of fundraising campaigns to fight child poverty around the world.
But this year, there was some controversy in the U.K., with charges that photos of BBC journalist Stacey Dooley, holding a Ugandan boy, perpetuated the white savior complex. The photo was taken on a trip to Uganda to film a documentary for the British charity Comic Relief, the sponsor of Red Nose Day.
And in the U.S., there are a series of prizes that raise questions about the use of celebrity in charitable campaigns you're entered in a lottery to win a free trip to London for a Mumford & Sons concert in director Richard Curtis' living room, with food "provided by" actress Carey Mulligan and Curtis' wife, Emma Freud, a British broadcaster. Curtis is co-founder of Comic Relief.
