Singer Paloma Faith says her selfless act shows 'good people do exist'
Paloma Faith, who sang The Only Love Can Hurt Like This, sold her clothes, bags and accessories, including a Halloween outfit she shared with Alan Carr, to raise money for charity
by Bradley Jolly, Sarah Ping PA · The MirrorPaloma Faith has expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the public for their contributions to her charity clothes sale - which aimed to support Gaza and Lebanon.
The Only Love Can Hurt Like This singer parted with her stylish garments, bags, and accessories, including a Halloween costume she wore alongside Alan Carr, a Dolce and Gabbana denim jacket gifted by rapper Eve, and luxurious pyjamas, all to gather funds for Oxfam’s Gaza-Lebanon appeal.
The 43-year-old songstress gave her followers the opportunity to snap up her iconic stage and film outfits at a pop-up shop located at The Gipsy Queen in Kentish Town, north London on Wednesday, with prices ranging from £20 to £150. Admirers also had the chance to donate an extra £20 for a selfie with Faith, who has championed Oxfam's cause since 2013.
She humorously promoted the event on Instagram, saying: "And if you slip me £20 I’ll take a selfie with you (just make sure to get my good side hahahaha)."
Reflecting on the successful event, she shared with the PA news agency: "I’ve donated some performance outfits, appearance outfits and one Halloween costume that I did with Alan Carr for the Shining twins and loads of shoes and a mixture of affordable things and expensive things. My friend Eve, who is the rapper of Who’s That Girl, also donated some of her things."
Faith continued, expressing her appreciation: "I’d like to say thank you to everyone who put their money where their heart is and did something to change lives, even if it’s the minimum of what we can do," and added, "It gives me hope that good people do exist because sometimes you can feel deflated by all the arseholes in the world."
The event, held just a day after a truce was announced, which will see Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah cease hostilities for 60 days and withdraw from southern Lebanon, managed to rake in cash for a noble cause. All the money collected at the sale is being funnelled into Oxfam's appeal, providing critical support to those living in Gaza and Lebanon—including emergency food supplies, clean water, hygiene essentials, and fixing water systems.
"The situation in Gaza is beyond horrifying. People are living in fear every day, without enough food or water and under constant bombardment, while in Lebanon shelters are overwhelmed with over a million people fleeing the escalation in violence."
She expressed deep thanks saying, "I am so grateful for everyone who came along last night to my pop-up shop to help us raise vital funds where they are needed so desperately."
Oxfam’s humanitarian head Magnus Corfixen also extended heartfelt gratitude towards Faith's fundraising initiative. He shared, "We are immensely grateful to Paloma, and everyone who supported her amazing pop-up shop last night, to help raise urgently needed funds to help people in Gaza and Lebanon whose lives has been devastated by conflict."
His plea continued, "Please continue to donate what you can to help us save lives now, and to help us scale up our humanitarian response when it is safe to do so."