Stars hilariously introduce Red Nose Day to America
Celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Zac Efron helped kicked off America's inaugural Red Nose Day telethon on Thursday (21May15) by starring in a hilarious TV sketch.
The event has enjoyed almost three decades of success in the U.K. as part of the nation's annual Comic Relief charity push - raising over $1 billion since its inception in 1988 - but Thursday's event was the first of its kind in the U.S.
Co-host Seth Meyers kicked off the three-hour telecast by
explaining the goals for the night, and joked, "We have one goal
and one goal only - raise enough money to shove this in England's
stuck-up face. Oh and also to raise money for kids in need."
The comedy continued with a sketch which featured Meyers calling on
actor Chris Pine to help out with Red Nose Day, which will benefit
12 charity organizations fighting poverty in the U.S., Africa, Asia
and Latin America.
Pine received a call from his Into the Woods co-star Emily Blunt,
and after the two broke out in song, he asked her to join him for a
fundraiser called Red Rose Day.
The game of telephone continued as Blunt's husband John Krasinski,
Zac Efron, Neil Patrick Harris, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Jennifer
Aniston, Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Garner all misinterpreted the
name of the telethon and its goal.
The conversation ended with Reese Witherspoon calling Meyers back,
requesting his assistance for a fundraiser called, "the day they
stopped making rose (wine)", which benefits "animals with
alcoholism".
More stars including Olivia Wilde, Coldplay, Will Ferrell, Jack
Black, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton are scheduled to appear
during the telethon.