Written by PETA
You can imagine how delighted we were when Russell Simmons received the "I Am Hip Hop" Icon award on last night's BET Hip-Hop Awards. The Icon award is presented to an individual who has made "notable contributions of outstanding significance to the hip-hop community," according to CNN, and Russell definitely fits that description! He was specifically recognized as a "philanthropic inspiration to other artists." Oh, yeah—we can testify to that!
Russell has lent his tremendous star power to many worthy PETA causes. He's stood up for dogs and against dogfighting, he's a vegetarian who wants to kick KFC's bucket, and he spoke out against foie gras last year.
So, not only is Russell generous to the five charities he personally heads—that's right, five—he's always got time to help animals.
So congratulations, Russell! You are one icon well deserving of an award.
Written by Amanda Schinke
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