Sandra Bullock is out of Restore the Gulf campaign while facts are gathered
by Bruce Alpert - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock is asking to be pulled from a video promoting the Women of the Storm's Restore the Gulf campaign, her publicist said Thursday. Bullock appears in the "Be the One" Gulf restoration promotion video with other celebrities urging people to sign a petition asking that President Barack Obama and Congress fully finance a plan to restore America's Gulf "for me and future generations." Bullock made her decision to pull out of the promotional effort -- at least temporarily -- after a report in the DeSmogBlog said the Women of the Storm's Gulf restoration effort is sponsored by America's Wetland Foundation, which it identifies as a front group for major oil companies, including BP and Shell. "Ms. Bullock was originally contacted through her attorney to be a part of the PSA (public service annoucement) in order to promote awareness of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico," Maisel said. "At no time was she made aware that any organization, oil company or otherwise had influence over Women of the Storm or its message. "We have immediately asked for her participation in the PSA be removed until the facts can be determined." There was no word on whether any of the other celebrities that participated in the "Be the One" video are having second thoughts about the effort. Other participants include Saints quarterback Drew Brees, musician Lenny Kravitz, actor John Goodman, musician Dave Matthews, actor Wendell Pierce, political consultants James Carville and Mary Matalin, restaurateurs Emeril Lagasse and Leah Chase, and NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning. Other participants included actors Alfred Woodward, and Bryan Batt, satirist Harry Shearer, and musicians Eric Harvey, and Dr. John. Val Marmillion, managing director of America's Wetland, said the group has never made a secret of its financial backing from the oil and gas industry.