For the past two seasons, American Idol has leveraged its incredible popularity to help raise money for charities through its special “Idol Gives Back”. Guest stars such as Brad Pitt, Ellen Degeneres, and Mariah Carey have all appeared on stage — bringing in close to $150 million over two years.

For this season — when charities are struggling hard to survive the economic downturn — it’s being dropped.

“When we’re making three, sometimes four hours a week of broadcast TV, to add the actual weight of making a huge charity show on top of that, at the same time, stretches the team like there’s no tomorrow,” executive producer Ken Warwick told reporters Monday. “And it’s really very, very difficult to keep the standard of the main show up as well as make ['Idol Gives Back'] something special.”

As a result, Idol is planning on hosting its charity event every other year — which is a shame since it appears that it could be an effective philanthropic force every season. Sure, this year’s totals would probably be reflective of the financial doom and gloom out there, but it would be something.

via MTV

Categories: Film/TV
Tags: brad pitt, ellen degeneres, mariah carey.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →