JOEL GALLEN - KATRINA BENEFIT BROADCAST 'WILL NOT HAVE POLITICS EDITED OUT'

The television broadcast of tonight's (09SEP05) Hurricane Katrina benefit show Shelter From The Storm will not edit out any political statements the artists choose to make.

Producer JOEL GALLEN has assured concerned US TV officials there will be a standard 30-second delay in case of any swearing, and he insists the star-studded line-up, which includes U2, SHERYL CROW, ROD STEWART and rap star KANYE WEST, has been warned against outrageous behaviour.

Gallen, who arranged a similar show after the September 11th (01) terrorist attacks, says, "I think people understand that politicising this will certainly not be a smart thing to do as far as inspiring people to call in and rally around this cause."

Rap star West raised eyebrows recently, when he accused US President GEORGE W BUSH of lacking the ability "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off," before adding, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

JENNIFER ANISTON, CAMERON DIAZ, ELLEN DeGENERES, JACK NICHOLSON, CHRIS ROCK and RAY ROMANO are also expected to star in the spectacular, which will pay tribute to the hurricane's victims and aid workers.

The event will also raise money for survivors of the disaster which devastated America's Gulf Coast last week (29AUG05).