Sting Under Fire as his Reputation Cools

With thousands of acres of rainforest being demolished every year for farmland and wood harvesting, charities are scrambling at the chance to preserve one of the world’s natural wonders. We all thought that Gordon Sumner, also known as superstar "Sting," and his wife Trudie Styler were heading up a noble effort with their Rainforest Foundation Charity. However, It has recently come to the attention of Charity Navigator, a charity evaluator, that less than half of the monies raised at Sting’s 2006 charity concert were actually allocated to rainforest efforts. This earned the foundation a zero stars out of a possible four for effectiveness.

According to the New York post, a whopping 59% of charity money has gone missing; the accepted percentage of charity money donated to an effort is around 75% of generated revenue. The 2006 charity concert raised over 2 million dollars yet only 887,374 dollars were used in the effort. Has Mr. Sumner performed a vanishing act? The Rainforest Foundation began operation in 1989 when it achieved legal recognition of Kayapo Indian rights for the preservation of the Menkragnoti Indigeous Area in the Brazilian Amazon.

Sandra Minutti, spokeswoman for Charity Navigator, said that “[The Rainforest Foundation] would fall to the bottom of the bucket." Trudie Styler was quick to respond saying that “[The Rainforest Foundation] wouldn't be in business or have given out millions of dollars over the years if [they’d] spent everything [they] made immediately after it came in."

Photographer and former Rainforest Foundation founder, Jean Pierre Dutilleux, thinks otherwise. In an official statement to the New York post Dutilleux said "I have kept quiet for almost 20 years, hoping for improvement…but enough is enough. Everything is true or worse." A noble effort- turn the other cheek while hundreds of thousands of dollars fade with the music...

Sting recently went under the microscope when Nevada vocalist Roy Smith made allegations that Sting stole song ideas from Smith after an extensive conversation with Sting over some beers in his basement. Sting apparently heard Smith singing at a bar in Reno, NV, afterward Smith revealed his odd relationship with a prostitute named Roxanne. According to the statute of limitations, Smith will have to pursue a civil suit in order to receive reparations because too much time has passed. We were so excited about The Police tickets we scored (such good seats!). Still, we can only hope that all allegations are false, otherwise Sting may have to deal with a true constable or two in the near future...