Cameron Diaz reveals inspiration to help people with AIDS

Cameron Diaz is an active supporter of helping people with AIDS.

The actress claims that after witnessing a family member pass away from HIV/AIDS, she dived into helping those in need.

“My dad’s cousin, in the early 80s, died of AIDS. He was one of the first. He lived in San Francisco and I remember my parents going up to San Francisco because he was dying,” The Mask star recalled in an Instagram Live session with the Los Angeles LGBT Center for Giving Tuesday.

“It was in the very, very beginning. There was no treatment. Everybody was scared and my dad wanted to go be there for him.”

Later on, Diaz came to support AIDS Project Los Angeles at an early stage.

“I’ve always felt so heavily supported by the LGBTQ community just because, by nature, there’s this connectivity to creativity,” she said.

“So I’ve been a part of that community since I was very, very young. Growing up in the 80’s, it was a time that was pivotal for the community to start to really find their voice and demand to be seen. And needing to be seen. I started with AIDS Project [Los Angeles] from inception, because I knew people in the community who were suffering from AIDS. And it was a real rally for everyone to support.”