How - Emotional blackmail, extortion racket, taking advantage of people's desperate to be in the biz, taking advantage of people's fear during the pandemic. Taking advantage of corporate structures' enormity to hide in their shadows to do this & to use their privilege of the victim to not get called out on it or punished for it. They have a favorite in the department or someone who wants that coveted position they do the boots on the ground work. They go, email everyone, send out texts, and set up the gofundme/fundraiser page. And keep track of who is donating what. They know this will get them more favors with this manager & more work and more power and authority in this department. Sometimes this person is a department head for a major entertainment company who has a particular afinity for this middle manager and they know requests from this person will get the attention of people.
Victimhood - a lot of comments from these people about the male dominated industry they are in & how much they suffer under it. They appear to have a lot of tax free money coming in so they aren't suffering that badly. Guilt is why some donate some out of fear.
None the less they have found a good gimic and it works, major executives in entertainment fall for it and choose to ignore it while a small group of people have a stranglehold ond a lot of people and their chances to get a foot in the door. The departments they manage don't pay well but they are the gatekeepers to an industry any young or new people hae to pass through them to continue working or gain more opporunitites. A fact these individuals know well. So despite their cries of inequality they continue to stay in low paying managment jobs because it pays in so many other ways. They have the futures and careers of a lot of mostly young people. They also have some of the most powerful people in the industry in the palm of their hands. The management of the talent keep all of this from their performers especially on the day of the show. They know they will pay in or face consequnces. Instead of getting more skills or starting their own business they have found a cozy place to make a living.