A dancer and choreographer who has worked with the world’s biggest pop stars has become latest big name to rally behind the massive relief effort for the deadly bushfires that have devastated Australia.
Parris Goebel -best known for directing and appearing in the music clip of Justin Bieber’s chart-topping hit Sorry – took to social media on Sunday pledging to donate $20 towards the bushfire relief effort for every Instagram post reshare.
Her heartfelt post includes a series of heartbreaking photos from Australia’s bushfire emergency disaster, which has claimed 24 lives so far this season and destroyed hundreds of homes.
The post has since gone viral worldwide which has attracted almost half a million likes and thousands of comments.
While she has been inundated with overwhelming support, she has also copped backlash from some critics who claimed it was a publicity stunt.
Kiwi Parris Goebel (pictured) has been devastated by the bushfire disaster across the Tasman
‘Australia needs out help,’ the Kiwi choreographer, 28, posted.
‘As I sit in the peace and safety of my room here in NZ, I can’t help but feel for all the families fleeing their homes, fire fighters sacrificing their lives and animals dying because of these horrific bushfires! Let’s raise awareness and do our part.’
She ended the post urging her 1.1 million followers to donate to the Australian Red Cross, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, WIRES and Salvation Army.
Goebel later edited the post to say she had already donated to Australian Red Cross but urged followers to continue donating and sharing the post as she plans to make a donation to the NSW RFS.
She is yet to reveal the figure raised so far and number reshares for the post.
If every person who liked the post also shared it, Goebel would have raised at least $8.22 million so far.
Parris Goebel is doing her bit to spread the word about the bushfire crisis devastating Australia
The choreographer has already donated but urged followers to keep sharing her heartfelt post
The choreographer to the superstars later issued a fiery response to backlash for her pledge after some critics claimed it was a publicity stunt.
‘I’m not getting paid to post about the fires, I’m not gaining followers. This is real life and if my country was on fire I would hope the world would speak up too and help out,’ Goebel tweeted.
‘So the fact you would suggest I would post about the fires as a publicity stunt shows you have no idea how it works when you are someone of influence. I actually had something to post today that i got paid for but postponed it to post about the fires. So you do the maths.’
Parris (pictured holding the sign) came to fame in 2015 for her direction and appearance in Justin Bieber’s hit Sorry, which was the sixth most viewed video online in the 2010s
The pledge comes days after Goebel was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2020 New Year Honours for her services to dance.
Goebel joins a host of Australian and international stars who have generously rallied behind the bushfire relief effort.
They include comedian Celeste Barber, actresses Nicole Kidman, Selena Gomez and Rebel Wilson, US pop star Pink, British royal Zara Tindall and host of sports stars led by number one world ranked tennis star Ash Barty.
Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Sam Smith are among some of the biggest names Goebel has worked with.
Beginning her career as a hip hop dancer, she toured with Lopez on her 2012 world tour and performed with her on the 1th season finale of American Idol.
The Australian bushfire crisis has claimed 24 lives so far. Pictured is the NSW town Batlow ravaged by fires on Saturday
Goebel, pictured with Justin Bieber, has already made a donation to Australian Red Cross
Goebel took the world by storm in 2015 after putting together and appearing in the captivating routine for Justin Bieber’s Sorry video clip, which has now been viewed more than 3.2 billion times on YouTube.
‘Wow! ‘Sorry’ is the 6th most viewed video of the DECADE,’ Goebel captioned a grab from the famous music clip on Instagram last week.
‘I remember doing an all nighter and editing this at my parents house to hand it in the next day. I watched it back before sending it off and thought ‘this is pretty cool’…I had absolutely no idea it would become so iconic and make the world dance!’
Goebel is coming off her most successful year to date where she choreographed Lopez’s half-time performance at the SuperBowl, the music clip to Smith’s hit How Do You Sleep and Rihanna’s show at New York Fashion Week.
Kiwi choreographer Parris Goebel (right) has also worked with Jennifer Lopez (left)
‘I do feel blessed but at the same time I’ve worked hard and I know where I should be in my career so it just feels right,’ Goebel told Daily Mail Australia in 2018.
‘In a way it means everything to me, to be recognised by the world’s most influential people and as an artist that’s what you really work towards – to be recognised by the best and in my own way, to be the best that I can be.’
‘When you have people that believe in you, you just have that undeniable belief in yourself – that’s why I never gave up.’