‘City of Dreams’: Celebs Back Tony Robbins’ Call to Combat Child Trafficking

(L-R) Renata Vaca, Mohit Ramchandani, Tony Robbins and Ari Lopez attend the Los Angeles premiere screening of "City of Dreams" on Aug. 23, 2024. Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins, an executive producer of the film “City of Dreams,” has urged the public to get active in helping to end child trafficking.

Robbins spoke out following last week’s nationwide release of the film, which dramatizes shocking details about child trafficking.

“Our goal is to produce enough emotion that people want to do something about it, like write their congressman, donate to some organizations where you can save a child’s life for $500,” Robbins told Fox News on Aug. 30.

“City of Dreams” is about a Mexican boy who is trafficked across the U.S. border and sold to an abusive, low-paying clothing factory in Los Angeles.

The film stars Jason Patric, who also played a lead role in “Lost Boys” in 1987 and “Speed 2: Cruise Control” in 1997.

“My wife and I have been involved in this for eight years,” Robbins said. “It’s not a side hustle for us. We’ve freed about a little more than 50,000 children. We’ve funded the freedom of them.”

Robbins was also an executive producer on “Sound of Freedom,” a similar feature film that earned $250 million at the global box office. “Sound of Freedom” is about a federal agent who quits his job to rescue a girl from sex slavery in South America.

Celebrities who have endorsed “City of Dreams” include actors Sylvester Stallone, Mira Sorvino, Thomas Jane, Martin Sheen, and politician Vivek Ramasaway.

“I’ve been making films for a long time, and every now and then you come across a film that is actually truly important, not just entertaining, but can change your entire outlook on life,” Stallone said on the same Fox News show. “This is one of them.”

Ramaswamy, who ran for U.S. president as a Republican earlier this year, highlighted the need to step up and do something about child trafficking.

Some 30 percent, or 109,000, of the 365,000 missing children in the U.S. are trafficked, according to Saved in America. Additionally, WorldsChildren.org found that globally, 27 percent of trafficking victims are children.

“It should make all of us uncomfortable that we live in the United States where we claim an American dream that has become an American nightmare for so many,” Ramaswamy told Fox News. “I don’t care whether you’re on the left or the right or black or white, we can unite around the fact that child slavery and child trafficking is wrong.”

For such celebrity endorsements to have a lasting impact on the effort to stop child trafficking, it must be part of a broad, sustained marketing strategy, according to Gary Frayter, a celebrity brand, podcast and social media consultant.

“We should encourage celebrities to stay involved with the cause over the long haul, rather than just making a one-time appearance,” Frayter told The Epoch Times. “This ongoing commitment keeps the issue visible to the public without causing people to lose interest.”

Chrissy Bernal, founder of Be a Better Brand in Houston, believes celebrity endorsements aren’t enough.

“It takes a consistent, widespread effort from celebrities and non-celebrities alike and for our lawmakers and enforcers to take a zero-tolerance approach,” Bernal told The Epoch Times.

Shadow-Ban Allegations

Some Instagram influencers were allegedly shadow-banned for posting about the film and about child trafficking, according to Mohit “Mo” Ramchandani, who directed the film and appeared on Fox News with Robbins.

Shadow-banning is blocking or reducing the reach of a social media user without their knowledge by making their posts or comments no longer visible to others.

“Our hope is it’s just an old algorithm, and they'll get it corrected right away because there’s no reason not to let people be exposed to this film,” he said. “There’s nothing in it that isn’t accurate.”

Instagram declined to comment without examples of influencers who were allegedly shadow-banned.

“We were also told the same about TikTok, but we literally just found out a few hours ago and I called Tony and it’s a little scary because I just wanted to make a film,” Ramchandani added. “I wanted to show people what happens to these kids and let them make up their own minds. I have no political agenda with it at all.”

TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.