The actress says she 'blew it' and the charity has since been pulled from the 20 Days of Kindness lineup.
Melissa McCarthy is apologizing after accidentally supporting an anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ charity in a campaign to promote her upcoming film, Superintelligence.
The actress and HBOMax teamed up for a 20 Days of Kindness campaign, and among the 20 charities highlighted was Exodus Cry, a Christian organization that states it's "committed to abolishing sex trafficking and breaking the cycle of commercial sexual exploitation." However, The Daily Beast and many on social media noted that the CEO Benjamin Nolot has a history of making comments against abortion and homosexuality. ET has reached out to HBOMax for comment.
"It has come to our attention that our 20 Days of Kindness, which is a kindness hub that we started to shine a light on 20 great charities, had one in there that…there's no other way to say it, we blew it," McCarthy said in a video on Instagram on Thursday. "We made a mistake and we backed a charity that upon proper vetting stands for everything that we do not."
She continued by thanking everyone on social media who flagged the charity, asking if she was sure she wanted to support it.
"Because the answer is, No we do not," she relayed. "We have pulled it. We are so incredibly grateful for you ringing the bell and helping us be better. We're sorry for our mistake. Oh boy, are we are sorry for it. Can't believe that we missed it."
McCarthy added that she hopes that this "doesn't ding the other charities because they're really doing some amazing things."
"Let the kindness continue," McCarthy concluded.
In a statement to ET on Thursday, HBO Max said, "We were made aware of the issues surrounding Exodus Cry and have removed them from the list of partners associated with the 20 Days of kindness campaign."
Tied to World Kindness Day, 20 Days of Kindness, which launched Tuesday, highlights a cause each day, encouraging viewers to donate. HBOMax is donating $20,000 to each organization. Other charities include The Trevor Project, Habitat for Humanity, Planned Parenthood and Best Friends Animal Society.
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