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Comedian Richard Herring has continued his annual tradition of reminding Twitter of the date of International Men’s Day while raising money for charity.
International Men’s Day, a global event that was relaunched more than two decades ago, is celebrated on 19 November.
The aim of the day is to raise awareness of issues that many men face around the world, including physical and mental health issues.
Every March, Herring makes it his mission on International Women’s Day to respond to the spate of tweets that appear from naysayers asking why there isn’t an International Men’s Day, informing them that the observance does in fact exist.
Eight months later, he is doing the same on International Men’s Day and using the attention his tweets receive to raise money for charity CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).
“It’s November 19th and I don’t know if you know it, but that’s International Men’s Day,” Herring states on his JustGiving fundraising page , which has a target of raising £10,000.
“You seemed to be really bothered about it on March 8th, so don’t forget about that now and make a donation to the Campaign Against Living Miserably and help prevent male suicides.”
Throughout the morning the comedian has tweeted numerous responses to Twitter users who wrote in March about their lack of knowledge about International Men’s Day.
One person tweeted: “When’s International Men’s Day then?! Of course there isn’t one. So much for equality!!”, to which Herring replied : “Today is the day that you thought didn’t exist.”
In response to someone else who asked if there is an International Men’s Day, Herring wrote : “It’s genuinely today. What are you going to be doing?"
He continued, stating: “Would you say the problem is that men are only interested in IMD when they think there isn’t one, but don’t want to do anything when it comes around? Genuine question.”
In a subsequent tweet, Herring revealed that today’s responses reminding Twitter users of the existence of International Men’s Day were all scheduled in March.
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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health Rob Delaney Catastrophe actor and comedian Rob Delaney, who lost his son Henry to brain cancer in January 2018, said he has long struggled with depression and encouraged others in the same position to seek help. "Asking for help is strong because it leads directly to staying alive," he says. "Not asking for help is as fear-based a decision as a human being can make and can lead you swiftly in a bad direction. It's not exaggerating to say that path can end in death."
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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health Bruce Springsteen Bruce 'The Boss' Springsteen told Esquire magazine in 2018 that although he wouldn't describe himself as being mentally unwell, he has "come close enough" and takes medication to cope. "I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise I can swing rather dramatically and the wheels can come off a little bit.”
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16 male celebrities who have spoken about mental health Prince Harry Prince Harry has been a vocal supporter of mental health campaigns like 'Time To Talk'. He also has spoken openly about his own problems following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He told The Telegraph : “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle." Harry said there was "huge merit" in talking about your issues and keeping quiet only makes things worse.
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Several people praised the comedian for raising awareness of the awareness day.
“You absolute genius, sir. Kudos on the best use of Twitter since at least 8th March,” one person commented .
“Brilliant work Richard, laughing harder today than I did in March!” another remarked .
To read more about International Men’s Day, click here .
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