'LAUGH AID' livestream raised more than $350K for COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund

Patton Oswalt – ABC/Eric McCandless(LOS ANGELES) — Comedy Gives Back’s recent LAUGH AID livestream event, which featured contributions from comedians like Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Ray Romano, Bob Saget, and Adam Sandler, raised a mint for comedians affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The numbers are now in from the April 4 event, and organizers say more than 2.5 million viewers checked it out — and opened their checkbooks — to the tune of $350,000. 

The Comedy Gives Back event, which boasted some 90 comedians, benefited LAUGH AID’s COVID-19 emergency relief fund, which gives grants to out-of-work entertainers in need of medical care, housing and mental health services.

The livestream also featured names like Patton Oswalt, Jimmy Fallon, Tom Papa, and Iliza Shlesinger, all creating content from their homes in this time of social distancing — “over eight hours of much needed laughter,” the group says.  

The event streamed on Comedy Gives Back’s website, and also screened on Laugh Lounge, AXS TV, Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

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