Jolie warns against celebrity grandstanding

Angelina Jolie has warned that celebrities grandstanding as advocates of the poor can do more harm than good.

10:08 30 January 2005

Top actress Angelina Jolie has warned that celebrities grandstanding as advocates of the poor can do more harm than good.

Addressing delegates at the World Economic Forum, in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, the Tomb Raider star said: "I think you can do damage. Celebrities have a responsibility to know absolutely what they're talking about, and to be in it for the long run."

"Just being an actress doesn't help me sleep well at night. When I do something for other people, then I feel my life has value," she added.

The 29-year-old actress has spent four years as goodwill ambassador to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

Jolie, recently voted the sexiest woman alive, is recognised for using her pulling power to highlight causes such as the humanitarian crises in Chad, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

The star's comments on Saturday came a day after fellow Hollywood celebrity Sharon Stone raised $1 million (540,000 pounds) in five minutes at the international conference.

The Basic Instinct star jumped up from the audience during a session on funding the war on poverty and challenged business tycoons to pledge donations for bed nets to protect African children from malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Celebrities have had an unprecedented billing at this year's business summit, with a number of Hollywood veterans including Richard Gere, teaming up with musicians like U2 front man Bono, to plead for aid to the poor.