Lisa Lampanelli Earns More Than $100K for LGBT Org on 'Celebrity Apprentice'

Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.

Although the controversial stand-up comedian Lisa Lampanelli was the latest to be fired by Donald Trump on the reality show "Celebrity Apprentice" she did win an impressive $130,000 for the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) -- a New York City-based AIDS service organization.

"We are honored that Lisa chose GMHC as her charity," said Marjorie J. Hill, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of GMHC. "This year marks the 30th anniversary of GMHC and we could not be more pleased that Lisa worked hard to raise much-needed funds to support our care services for thousands of men, women and families affected by HIV/AIDS, our HIV prevention programs and advocacy efforts at all levels of government."

Lampanelli has been an avid supporter of the LGBT community. She has volunteered to serve lunches in GMHC's Meal's Program, which annually provides nearly 90,000 hot meals to people that have HIV/AIDS.

In May of last year the anti-gay group the Westboro Baptist Church planned to protest one of her shows in Topeka, Kan. When Lampaneli discovered the planned protest she announced that she would donate $1,000 to GMHC for every protester that attended. In all, 44 protesters showed up but Lampaneli decided to round up and donate $50,000 to the organization. She credited the donation as being "made possible by the WBC."

"We know that to end HIV/AIDS, we must also continue to address homophobia and stigma which are lethal drivers of this disease," added Hill. "We need more people like Lisa Lampanelli to help us by utilizing their creativity, talent, skills and generosity. While we are saddened that Lisa is no longer on 'The Celebrity Apprentice,' we are glad to have watched and cheered her on. She is one of our heroes."

Pop star Aubrey O'Day, who was a member of the girl group Danity Kane, is in the reality show's final three and is raising money for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The singer has been ambiguous when it comes to her sexual orientation and said on the "Chelsea Lately" show that "generally, I don't like to label myself... I want to find someone I'm passionate about, and I don't want to limit myself to one segment of the population."

The latest season of "Celebrity Apprentice" has been one of the series' most gay-friendly as out celebrities Clay Aiken and George Takei have also participated in the reality show.

In March Takei planned to meet Trump in hopes to change the businessman's views on same-sex marriage. Although Takei was eliminated early on in the show, he invited Trump to have lunch at New York City's Jean Georges restaurant to discuss the issue.

"Donald Trump has accepted my lunch invitation to hear me out on same-sex marriage. Hope I can change his mind! #OneStateOnePersonAtaTime," the "Star Trek" actor tweeted.


by Jason St. Amand , National News Editor

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