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Critics Choice Awards rescheduled for third time amid Los Angeles wildfires

The destruction has halted many Hollywood events.

By contributor By Ellie Iorizzo, PA Los Angeles Correspondent
Published
California Wildfires Defensible Space
Critics Choice Awards have a new date after the Los Angeles wildfires (Ethan Swope/AP)

The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards will take place in February after it was postponed twice amid the Los Angeles wildfires and relief effort.

The destruction has halted many Hollywood events, with the Oscars nominations announcement delayed for a second time and US author Stephen King leading calls for a boycott of the ceremony being hosted in the wake of the blaze.

“IMHO (in my humble opinion) they should cancel them. No glitz with Los Angeles on fire,” he wrote.

The Critics Choice Association have rescheduled the awards ceremony for a third time.

Originally slated for January 12, it was moved to January 26 as the “catastrophic fires” took hold, but will now take place on February 7 from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica with Chelsea Handler remaining as host.

“There will no longer be a Live from E!: Critics Choice Awards two-hour red carpet special ahead of the telecast,” organisers said, before confirming the ceremony will be broadcast live on E! and around the world.

British stars Sir Rod Stewart and Sting were among the singers slated to perform at a charity concert, dubbed FireAid, to support relief efforts, alongside US stars Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Pink and Katy Perry.

The “one night only” event will take place at the Intuit Dome and the adjacent Kia Forum in Los Angeles on January 30, as well as being broadcast and streamed live.

The line-up also features Fleetwood Mac star Stevie Nicks and 10-time Grammy winner Joni Mitchell, alongside Gwen Stefani, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gracie Abrams, Green Day, Jelly Roll, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lil Baby, Stephen Stills and Tate McRae.

Two-time Oscar-winning musician Eilish will perform with her brother Finneas O’Connell, while the concert will also mark the first time Dave Matthews and John Mayer will perform live together.

Sir Rod, who returned from his home in Los Angeles to the UK permanently after three decades in 2023, will perform after celebrating his 80th birthday earlier this month.

Stars who have donated to the relief efforts in LA include Oscar-winning actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Lee Curtis, who both pledged one million dollars (£819,000), alongside Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria.

Pop superstar Taylor Swift described the wildfires as “heartbreaking to see” as she posted a list of organisations she has donated to, including the California Community Foundation Fund and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.

US superstar Beyonce also confirmed her BeyGood foundation donated 2.5 million dollars (£2.05 million) to the relief efforts, after postponing an announcement which fans speculate will be a tour or a new album.

Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation also offered a 500,000 dollar (£410,000) donation to relief efforts as “the disaster upends families and dismantles livelihoods”, the rock band said on Instagram.

US socialite Paris Hilton raised 800,000 dollars (£656,000) in 72 hours for displaced families through her charity 11:11 Media Impact, and pledged 150,000 dollars (£123,000) to GoFundMe’s Wildfire Relief Fund.

She later announced the Hilton hotel chain was offering 20,000 rooms to displaced families for free.

The US star also fostered a three-year-old chihuahua “whose family unfortunately had to surrender her after their home was destroyed in the wildfires”, she wrote on Instagram.

It came after the reality star watched her Malibu home “burn to the ground on live TV”.

Other stars who lost their homes to the fires included Mel Gibson, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Billy Crystal, Jamie Chung and Bryan Greenberg.

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