After being told "you don't belong in America, you f*cking joke," Indian-American actor Kal Penn decided to turn a troll's racist tweet into something positive.
The "Designated Survivor" actor immediately took to his crowdfunding page, which said it was "donating to Syrian refugees in the name of the dude who said I don’t belong in America."
"We are better than the hateful people who tell us we don't belong in our own country, that America can't be a beacon of freedom and hope for refugees from around the world. We will turn their bigotry, along with the President's, into love," he wrote on the crowdfunding page.
To the dude who said I don't belong in America, I started a fundraising page for Syrian Refugees in your name. https://t.co/NOR5P48fBi pic.twitter.com/jtJOsK9GrU
— Kal Penn (@kalpenn) January 28, 2017
Penn's original goal was to raise $25,000, but after his page went viral and raising over 20K in a few hours, he increased his goal to $50,000.
Money and love kept flowing to Penn's page, and he has now raised over quarter of a million dollars for refugees in less than 24 hours.
"Beautiful people - You just raised more than a quarter of a million dollars for refugees in less than 24 hours! This is such a testament to how proud we are of our beautiful country and how fired up we are to #resist our new president’s dangerous policies with solidarity and love. Thank you! The donor page remains open, so keep it up!," Penn wrote in a thank you statement on his page.
According to The Independent, the money raised will be donated to the International Rescue Committee, which supports refugees around the world.
Penn was born to traditional Indian parents in the state of New Jersey in 1977. He served former US President Barack Obama's administration in a variety of roles.
You can donate to Penn's cause here.
