Stars panic as celebrity Twitter ban campaign fails to reach $1m

WASHINGTON - Celebrities, who took part in the Twitter “Digital Death” campaign, started panicking when they were not able to raise the 1 million dollars promised to charity Keep a Child Alive.

They managed to convince Brooklyn-born billionaire pharmaceutical executive Stewart Rahr to donate 500,000 dollars to meet the 1 million dollar goal and thereby let them get back on Twitter.

Stars who took part were Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, Daphne Guinness and others on Twitter and Facebook.

The stars had agreed to “kill” themselves on social media until they raised a 1 million dollar for the charity, which helps fund HIV/AIDS relief in Africa and India.

But it took longer than expected, and insiders say the celebs became frustrated.

“It’s the worst mismanagement of star power I’ve ever seen in my life,” Fox News quoted a source close to the program as saying.

Sources said the organization expected to raise the 1 million dollars in a week, but after six days, it had taken in only about 450,000 dollars.

Stars including Kim Kardashian, who can earn about 10,000 dollars a tweet, started getting itchy fingers.

One source blamed servers that crashed for 12 hours on the first night for the slow-paced donations, while others blamed lack of promotion and overestimating the participants’ Twitter power. (ANI)