Actress Sandra Bullock apparently wants out of the new “Be the One” Gulf Coast PSA. The clip, released last week, shows Bullock and other famous faces including Lenny Kravitz, Peyton Manning, John Goodman and more, encouraging people to sign a petition demanding that government leaders take immediate action to preserve and restore the Gulf Coast’s wetlands in the wake of the massive BP oil spill.
The video was put together by the New Orleans based Women of the Storm group who is alleged to have ties with America’s Wetland Foundation, which has taken money from various oil companies including BP. So Bullock’s publicist Cheryl Maisel released a statement on behalf of the Oscar winning actress Thursday (Jul 29) asking for her participation in the PSA to be removed until she finds out whether or not oil companies influenced it.
“Ms. Bullock was originally contacted through her attorney to be a part of the PSA in order to promote awareness of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. At no time was she made aware that any organization, oil company or otherwise had influence over Women of the Storm or its message. We have immediately asked for [Bullock’s] participation in the PSA be removed until the facts be determined.”
The statement followed a report from the website DeSmogBlog who called the “Be the One” campaign a front for oil companies to get support for drilling and taxpayer money to repair the damage caused by the oil spill.
However, the founder of Women of the Storm, Anne Milling, says that her group did work with the Wetland Foundation, but they only provided experts and information and she says the video was NOT funded by oil companies. At this point she only hopes that Sandra will at least hear them out and once she does, she hopes the actress will change her mind. She told E! News:
“I was shocked and of course very disappointed,. However, I do believe that once Ms. Bullock hears and listens to the facts and understands that Women of the Storm has had no connection or taken money from oil companies, I think that will allay her fears and I believe she will rejoin our video because she really believes in coastal restoration. She is committed to that.”
Milling says that despite Sandra’s objection to the PSA at the moment, the other celebrities already on board have been sent notes and they all still want to be a part of the group’s mission.
