Kal Penn, the actor best known for his roles in the medical TV show House and the Harold and Kumar film series, has so far raised over $800,000 (£635,000) for Syrian refugees in response to a racist tweet he received.
Penn set up a fundraising page on Crowdrise to raise money for International Rescue Committee, a global humanitarian and relief charity that, among other activities, has launched an emergency appeal to help refugees in the US.
Alongside his acting career, Penn was a vocal supporter of Barack Obama, accepting a position of associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement in 2009.
Penn, whose real name is Kalpen Suresh Modi, was born and raised in New Jersey to immigrant parents from India, before studying film and sociology at UCLA.