A Concert for Hurricane Relief

A Concert for Hurricane Relief was an hour-long, celebrity-driven benefit concert broadcast live on September 2, 2005. Sponsored by the NBC Universal Television Group, its purpose was to raise money, relief, and awareness in response to the loss of life and human suffering that resulted from Hurricane Katrina in five southeastern States in the United States in 2005. Hosted by Matt Lauer, it was simulcast from the New York studios of NBC located in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York, on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, and i: Independent Television. Controversy was sparked during Kanye West's segment of the show, where he claimed "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Viewers were encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund by calling the number 1-800-HELP-NOW or through the Red Cross's website. The benefit generated $50 million and was watched on television by approximately 8.5 million viewers.

A Concert for Hurricane Relief, was hastily pulled together after New Orleans native musician Harry Connick, Jr. called NBC Universal chairman and CEO Bob Wright personally to offer his services and encourage the network to embrace relief efforts.

Connick's voice was hoarse when he performed at the benefit, after he had been on the air several times live from New Orleans in the last few days, trying to raise awareness of all the help the city and the people there was in need for.

The concert garnered media attention during Kanye West's comments regarding the portrayal of black people in the media. The comments began when West and Mike Myers were presenting, as he deviated from the prepared script after purportedly telling Myers "I'm going to ad-lib a little bit," then telling co-presenter Chris Tucker, "Get ready for live TV." Myers began with, "With the breach of three levees protecting New Orleans, the landscape of the city has changed dramatically, tragically and perhaps irreversibly. There is now over 25 feet of water where there was once city streets and thriving neighborhoods." West followed this with his devation from the script:

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