Celebs Who Didn't Take The Coronavirus Seriously
Money and fame doesn't immunize the celebrity world against the global COVID-19 pandemic, and a wealth of famous folk — from Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to Idris Elba and Kristofer Hivju — have tested positive for the virus. Elsewhere in Tinsletown, unaffected stars have found ways to help out their community with PSAs, donations, and even the odd Cash app to a struggling fan — but, then there's the others.
Some celebrities have come under fire for failing to take the outbreak seriously. Be it an ill-advised tweet or an outright failure to social distance, fans are definitely letting the backlash fly. In the wise words of Hilary Duff (via The New York Post), "To all you young millennial a**holes that keep going out partying: go home." And seriously, can you all just turn on your phones and read the news? They have WiFi in Hollywood, don't they?
Rudy Gobert wished he took COVID-19 more seriously
Rudy Gobert was not buying into the COVID-19 hype. According to The Hill, the NBA player made a point to "playfully" rub his hands all over the microphones at a press conference as he exited the event. The shocking video was received poorly once it was uploaded to Twitter, but Gobert was, perhaps, the sorriest person there.
Shortly after touching everything he possibly could in the room, the Utah Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19. The Athletic reported that Gobert had recently traveled from France before contracting the virus and was "feeling good, strong, and stable." The NBA did not share Gobert's lackadaisical stance and ended up indefinitely suspending the season following his diagnosis, according to ESPN.
Gobert was the first person in the NBA to be diagnosed, but since then, Gobert's teammate Donovan Mitchell and four players for the Brooklyn Nets have tested positive, including Kevin Durant, according to ESPN reporter Malika Andrews. Gobert later shared an update from the NBA's Twitter account where he admitted he's "feeling a little better every single day." He added, "I wish I would have taken this thing more seriously and I hope everyone else will do so because we can do it together." According to CNN, Gobert donated $500,000 to help those "affected by the coronavirus."
Gwyneth Paltrow hawked a $450 skirt during a pandemic
While Americans were panic-buying toilet paper (please stop doing that, by the way), Gwyneth Paltrow was hawking $425 sneakers — and the internet was not thrilled. Amidst the pandemic, the Goopstress posed on her Goop Instagram page wearing an outfit with expensive featured items that cost nearly $1,000 combined. According to Page Six, the caption read: "Most days you'll find GP wearing G.Label with a pair of sneakers — which is one reason we make it an annual tradition to put together a fresh sneaker guide each year. Get ready to cover some serious ground (run, don't walk)."
The post was met with immediate criticism and commentators labeled the message "tone-deaf" and "irresponsible." Page Six reports that one even asked, "We're in the middle of a world-wide pandemic, y'all really think anyone's gonna buy an ugly a** $450 skirt?" Perhaps unsurprisingly, the post was deleted.
This isn't the first time Paltrow — and her luxury brand — has been accused of being wildly out of touch. In January 2020, Britain's National Health Service chief Simon Stevens slammed Goop's Netflix series for promoting "quacks, charlatans and cranks" and claimed it posed "considerable risks to health," according to the Associated Press. Beyond that, does anyone remember her experiment with food stamps?
Scheana Shay refused to socially isolate
Scheana Shay took a brief reprieve from cosplaying as the overly attached girlfriend meme on Vanderpump Rules to throw a quarantine party at her home. Three days before Palm Springs, Calif. issued a "shelter in place" order, Shay tweeted an invite to her friends to work from home in "a Palm Springs quarantine."
"I will continue to live my life in Palm Springs or MDR [with] my friends and not live it in complete isolation or fear," she wrote in a separate tweet. "Simple as that. Call me 'ignorant' but I'm not gonna stop living!"
Of course, Shay's fans were concerned, especially considering the reality star might fall into a high-risk category. "Don't you have asthma? You should really consider isolating yourself," one user wrote. Another claimed the star was "ignorant," "selfish," and "irresponsible" for encouraging others to "make such a bad decision." Shay — who clearly hasn't seen the videos of Italians singing from their balconies — remained firm on her stance. "I truly hope each and every one of you tweeting me that I'm stupid ... are all home alone and not making contact with any people for the rest of the month," she wrote. Baby girl, we are at home.
Shay later apologized, claiming she wasn't "fully updated on the pandemic" after returning from a work trip and planned to stay home and make enchiladas.
Michelle Collins was placing bets
Michelle Collins was too busy placing her bets to place real importance on the global pandemic. The former co-host of The View — who for some reason has a particular distaste for The Good Place star Jameela Jamil — urged her Twitter followers to "place [their] bets on who will be the first famous person to get Corona." "Jameela doesn't count," she wrote. Though it's not a game, none of us would have ever guessed Tom Hanks, who's already been discharged from the hospital alongside his wife, Rita Wilson. Also, how insensitive can you get?
Jamil has been under intense scrutiny after revealing some details of her medical history, including her struggle with the chronic illness Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and cancer, which she survived twice. According to the Los Angeles Times, fans even accused the star of having Munchausen syndrome because she posted a picture of peanut butter-filled pretzels despite revealing that she once suffered from a peanut allergy. Needless to say, she didn't take too kindly to Collins' ill-advised statement. "May you never suffer from chronic illness. May you never wake up in pain and swollen every f**ing day of your life. May you never struggle with an invisible disability. May you never be laughed at over it by people who have never met you," she fired back.
Maybe Collins should probably practice a little social distancing from Twitter, too?
For Lewis Capaldi, the show went on
Lewis Capaldi has undeniable charm. He's the kind of refreshing celeb who freely admits that he's on Tinder like the rest of us and still gets mistaken for a seat-filler at awards shows despite his superstar status. Nonetheless, his recent failure to cancel a concert in Scotland amid the COVID-19 outbreak has made some fans want to swipe left.
According to Page Six, the "Bruises" singer was met with major criticism after performing in Aberdeen in his home country of Scotland, ignoring widespread concerns about the global pandemic. This included some choice comments from Piers Morgan, who slammed the star on Good Morning Britain. "LA has shut down all its bars, restaurants, gyms, etc. But in Britain, you can go to any gym, any bar, any restaurant," he said (via the Independent), adding, "This is what Britain's doing. Lewis Capaldi played in Scotland last night; we had the half marathon yesterday."
Capaldi defended his decision to go ahead with the gig. A spokesperson for the star told Metro that the arena show was in "full compliance with the advisory documents on mass gatherings issued by the Scottish government." These docs advised against public gatherings of 500 people or more. At the time of this writing, the Telegraph reports that all UK residents have been urged to "avoid gatherings and crowded places."
LaLa Kent fantasized about coronavirus publicity
We have to give Lala Kent some slack. The Vanderpump Rules star was awaiting her April 18th, 2020 wedding in the literal worst time to have a wedding ever. According to Reality Blurb, co-star Jax Taylor has since confirmed that the couple canceled their nuptials, and the reality TV star clearly turned to humor to get herself through. That's at least a little bit better than turning into a full-on bridezilla, right?
"So, I may get in trouble for this but it's okay," Kent said in an Instagram Story (captured by Page Six). "I just don't feel that God would give me coronavirus before I get married ... Let's just say I do get it before my wedding. I feel like that means that God is like, 'B***h. You need a little publicity.' That's the only way I would get it I feel."
Of course, the only way to get a highly contagious virus is if the powers that be decide you should be in the news, right? Kent changed her tune some days later when she decided to "quarantine [her] a** off." In a now-deleted Instagram post, she wrote, "This whole situation has been way too heavy." According to Page Six, Kent's fiance Randall Emmett is on location for a film in Puerto Rico, while Kent is presumably at home in Bel-Air, Calif.
Vanessa Hudgens needs to get her head in the game
High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens donated money to Feeding America in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak, however, some people still accused the star of not taking the virus seriously when she expressed a controversial opinion on Instagram Live.
Like most of us, Hudgens has been trying to live out her best quarantine life. She's been hanging out with her bestie and former co-star Ashlee Tisdale on TikTok, drinking wine by candlelight, and complaining about not being able to go to the pub on St. Patrick's Day (in a post she already deleted). Hudgens also hopped on Instagram Live to do a makeup tutorial, which... didn't go well. According to TMZ, the stream went off topic when a viewer said the quarantine could possibly last four more months. Hudgens reportedly said that "sounds like a bunch of bulls**t" and "even if everybody gets it ... like, yeah ... people are gonna die, which is terrible, but like ... inevitable?"
Hudgens was met with a lot of backlash because it's not exactly inevitable. The CDC recommends that people avoid close contact and frequently wash hands for at least 20 seconds to prevent the virus' spread, while cities like San Francisco have enacted a "shelter in place" order to drastically limit public contact. According to TMZ, the actress later apologized saying her words were "insensitive and not at all appropriate" and the public outcry was a "huge wake up call."