Impactflint water crisismichael keatonlaverne cox

Michael Keaton Dedicated His SAG Award To Flint Residents

“There are a zillion Flint, Michigans out there. If there had been a ‘spotlight’ put on that, I argue they may have been a little ahead of the situation.”
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By 

Associate Editor, What's Working, The Huffington Post

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Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images

Celebrities at last weekend's Screen Actors' Guild used the stage to speak out about topics that go beyond the big screen.

Michael Keaton, who was among the winners of Best Ensemble Cast for his role in "Spotlight," dedicated the award to residents affected by the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

"For me, personally, and I think I speak for everyone, honestly this is not only for the survivors of this horrific situation... this is really for the disenfranchised everywhere," he said. "This is for every Flint, Michigan in the world. This is for the powerless, this is for the powerful who take advantage of the powerless."

"Spotlight" tells the true story of the group of Boston Globe journalists who exposed child molestation in the Catholic Church. 

Keaton told reporters backstage at the awards show that journalists play a huge role in investigating any crisis, according to the Los Angeles Times. “There are a zillion Flint, Michigan, out there. If there had been a ‘spotlight’ put on that, I argue they may have been a little ahead of the situation,” he said.

The 100,000 residents of Flint, Michigan can't drink their tap water because of toxically high levels of lead, a deadly neurotoxin. The city is in a state of federal emergency and nearly 27,000 children are being treated for lead exposure, according to the Detroit News. Although the water started to decline in summer 2014, officials ignored residents' complaints until a local pediatrician documented high lead in Flint children's blood last fall.

Actress Laverne Cox from "Orange Is The New Black" also used her red carpet time to sound off on the Flint crisis, and encouraged people to donate. 

"You go to my Twitter page, @LaverneCox, you can see a link to make a donation," she told E! News. "Really I think the governor should resign, but that's a whole other issue. Sending love to the people at Flint, and let's do what we can. United States people should have good drinking water."

If you'd like to support Flint residents, here are some ways to help. 

Also on HuffPost:

Here Are All The People Coming Together To Support Flint
Cher(01 of14)
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The pop diva led the pack when she sent 181,000 bottles of water to Flint residents. (credit:Lucas Jackson / Reuters)
Pearl Jam(02 of14)
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Pearl Jam donated $125,000 to the United Way of Genesee County, and persuaded a group of friends and partners, including Ticketmaster, to give an additional $175,000. They also set up a CrowdRise page that has pulled in over $350,000. (credit:Peter Still via Getty Images)
Wisconsin Churches(03 of14)
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A group of churches in Racine, Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wisconsin came together to collect and donate 72,000 cans of water to Flint. (credit:Raymond Boyd via Getty Images)
Girl Scouts(04 of14)
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Brownie Girl Scout Troop 71729 sent letters to Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) asking him to take action for Flint residents. "I am so mad," one Girl Scout wrote. "Flint's water is not good for kids to drink and eat. It is lead," wrote another member. (credit:Rick Kern via Getty Images)
Who Is Hussain?(05 of14)
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The Michigan-based Muslim charity Who Is Hussain? has donated 30,000 bottles of water to Flint. (credit:Who Is Hussain)
Detroit Lions(06 of14)
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A group of Lions team members, led by defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, donated 94,000 bottles of water to Flint. (credit:Mark Cunningham via Getty Images)
Mark Wahlberg and Sean 'Diddy' Combs(07 of14)
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Wahlberg and Diddy may seem an unlikely duo, but they are both part-owners of a bottled water company called AQUAhydrate. The two contributed a combined donation of 1 million water bottles. (credit:Noel Vasquez via Getty Images)
AT&T(08 of14)
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Telecommunications firm AT&T, which is based in Detroit, donated $50,000 to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint for water relief efforts. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jimmy Fallon(09 of14)
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The TV host donated $10,000 and asked 10 friends to match his donation on Twitter. (credit:Mike Segar / Reuters)
Madonna(10 of14)
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Madonna was one of the celebrities who responded to Jimmy Fallon's challenge. She announced on Instagram that she will donate $10,000 to Flint residents. (credit:Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)
Anheuser-Busch(11 of14)
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The beer giant is sending 50,000 cans (of water!) to Flint that are set to arrive in the first week of February. (credit:Doug McKay/HMS Group via Getty Images)
Meek Mill(12 of14)
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Rapper Meek Mill (Nicki Minaj's boyfriend) sent 60,000 bottles of water and an "undisclosed lump sum of money" to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. (credit:Kevork Djansezian / Reuters)
Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark(13 of14)
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The founder of Craigslist announced a "Water for Flint" challenge on CrowdRise, in which he pledged to send 100 cases of water to the United Way of Southeastern Michigan for every $20 donation his campaign received. (credit:Robert Galbraith / Reuters)
How To Help(14 of14)
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If you'd like to help the residents of Flint, consider donating to the United Way or the Red Cross. Or you can offer to volunteer for the Flint Water Response Team. Check out more ways to contribute here. (credit:Dennis Pajot via Getty Images)

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