Last week, celebrity activism seemed to have hit an all-time, "Saturday Night Live"-parody low when a news story broke that Paris Hilton had taken on the plight of binge-drinking elephants in India. "The elephants get drunk all the time. It is just so sad," she was quoted as saying to reporters in Tokyo.
Turned out the story was a prank. Still, it fooled plenty of people -- including the Associated Press -- because it actually seemed plausible. Who couldn't imagine the blond heiress pouting from atop a tipsy pachyderm? Not so long ago Hilton, fresh out of jail, was planning a much-ballyhooed trip to Rwanda.
She wouldn't have been the first starlet on a global mission. Scarlett Johansson works with Oxfam, Natalie Portman stumps for women in developing nations, and Hayden Panettiere makes waves for dolphins. Even tweens such as Dakota Fanning want to save the world. Many in Young Hollywood, especially actresses, are aligning themselves to social causes like never before. There are companies devoted to matching celebrities with charities, even a reality show in the works that hopes to capture every hug.
"We now live in the world of the actor-brand," says Howard Bragman, founder of Fifteen Minutes PR, a Los Angeles public-relations firm that specializes in crisis management. "And for an actor, that brand is defined by the acting, the fashion and the social choices that you make."
But these days, headlining a charity event or donating a Valentino dress worn to the Oscars to EBay is hardly enough goodwill to shape a beloved humanitarian. Thanks in part to indefatigable celebrity philanthropist Angelina Jolie, the bar is high.
For young Hollywood, walking the walk requires getting some mud on your shoes.
Case in point: Johansson, 23, recently toured India and Sri Lanka for 10 days with Oxfam. She's due to visit Africa in February with the international relief foundation devoted to ending poverty and injustice. Portman spent time in villages in Uganda this past July with FINCA, an organization that provides small loans to global women in need. In her four years with FINCA, she has made trips to Mexico and Guatemala too.
No desire 'to be just a talking face'
"Celebrities always tout different charities," Portman, 26, said on TV's "The View" this past May. "I didn't want to be just a talking face."
Nor does Panettiere, the 18-year-old star of "Heroes." Last month, she jetted to Japan to join surfers who were protesting dolphin slaughter.
