Madonna’s bath, Cardi B’s rant, Lizzo’s flute and Ellen’s banal phone calls – the best celebrity coronavirus responses
Idris Elba preaches personal hygiene, Daniel Dae Kim has spoken out about anti-Asian xenophobia, January Jones thinks skincare is a priority while The Crown’s Judi Dench tells us to ‘just keep laughing’ – the profoundly different ways celebrities are reacting to Covid-19 on social media
Whether we like it or not, celebrities hold much influence over public thought. And when they choose to use their platform to engage with the public positively, minds can change. Tom Hanks used his platform not only to encourage social distancing, but to remind people to register to vote online for the upcoming US election.
Other celebs have received far-reaching, and vastly different, reactions to their positive online outreach. Here are some of the most memorable posts so far.
Idris Elba
The sexy star of The Wire and Luther was one of the first celebs to reveal he was infected with Covid-19. Asymptomatic, Elba urged the public that that was all the more reason they should practise social distancing and good hygiene because there can be a lot of people carrying the disease and infecting others without knowing it. Fans of Elba quickly started posting thirsty tweets, saying they’d gladly be quarantined with the hot star and take whatever he is infecting. Erm, not quite.
Daniel Dae Kim
The Lost and Hawaii Five-O star was the next thirst trap to reveal he was infected. Isolated in his family home, Kim assured fans he was on the path to recovery and used his platform to thank front line medical professionals for their tireless work while calling racists “cowardly” for verbally and physically attacking Asian Americans. Hate crimes against Asians in the West have spiked recently – a good thing Kim is here to set these fools straight.
Lizzo