Mia Khalifa Raised Over $100k for the Red Cross and Got a Tattoo To Celebrate

Witnessing the abundance of charitable acts over the last couple of months has been one of the only bright spots to come out of the hellscape that is 2020. There have been many horrible events this year—a global pandemic, the murders of George Floyd and other people of color by law enforcement, the explosion in Beirut, etc.—but there has also been an astounding reaction by the masses eager to help. Whether people are donating their time or their funds, people have come together throughout all of the turmoil to lend a hand. 

While philanthropy is most certainly not a competition, Mia Khalifa, the former adult actress and social media personality, just raised the bar for everybody else. Horrified by the explosion that rocked her hometown of Beirut, Khalifa kicked into high gear to raise money for the Lebanese Red Cross. 

Khalifa auctioned off the “infamous” glasses that she wore throughout her adult film career. I’m sure she expected them to bring in some money, but she had to have been shocked when the price shot past $100,000. 

To celebrate the feat, Khalifa decided to cover up an old tattoo of hers with a new design dedicated to Lebanon designed by a Lebanese artist, Rony Sassine. Ivana Belakova tattooed the design live on Twitch and it looks simply beautiful. 

“I only cried 10,450 times… You guys raised over $104,000 for the @lebaneseredcross today,” Khalifa said in an Instagram post. “Between the eBay glasses auction and the twitch stream, the impact you guys made today is tangible.”

Belakova was covering up a small tattoo that Khalifa had, the logo from the Lebanese Forces, a right-wing political party stemming from the Lebanese Civil War. “Everyone is capable of growth,” she commented about the old tattoo. The new tattoo incorporates the cedar tree, a symbol of Lebanon. 

Khalifa was able to raise a staggering amount of money for the Lebanese Red Cross, but they’re going to be needing a lot more as Beirut struggles to rebuild after the massive explosion that tore through the city. If you want to do your part, visit the donations can be made to the Lebanese Red Cross here.