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Since the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic two weeks ago, there have been over 576,000 cases of the virus in 197 countries and territories, according to CNN.
Doctors all over the globe are attempting to procure effective treatment for patients, as the rest of the world painfully waits in quarantine for this apocalyptic nightmare to be over.
Many look to wealthy members of the upper class to access their overabundant bank accounts in order to make a positive impact in the world. And some have.
Among widespread community efforts to raise money for protective face masks and hand sanitizer, a handful of benevolent individuals have donated to charities dedicated to providing relief to those affected. Many among this group include celebrities, such as Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Ariana Grande, Stephen Curry and Rihanna.
The effects of COVID-19 are being felt in many communities and its our responsibility to prevent hunger for those that need a helping hand. With @eatlearnplay, we are in the fight and hope you can join us in any way possible. https://t.co/qMwum7DYqM
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) March 19, 2020
However, there are some who refuse to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. One specific star went as far as to imply that the coronavirus was bad only because it inconvenienced her and her alone.
A couple of days ago, “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens went on an Instagram livestream only to announce her sadness toward the fact that Coachella was cancelled. She then proceeded to say that although she “respected” the virus, she knew that “people are going to die.”
vanessa hudgens says people with corona are ‘inevitably’ gonna die anyways.. yikes pic.twitter.com/grPxrqG7GJ
— Sebastian Williams (@sebas_williams) March 17, 2020
Hudgens went as far as to complain about the virus taking away her “freedom” to go anywhere she pleased. By implying that she was willing to risk the chance of infecting others with COVID-19 by going against Californian governor’s Stay At Home policy, Hudgens perfectly epitomized the shallow & extremely privileged nature of some of today’s idols.
Although she tried to cover it up in the days following by posting coronavirus prevention methods on her story and donating to a relief fund, her insensitivity has stayed in the back of many minds.
Even more recently, actress Evangeline Lilly revealed in her Instagram comments that she was still taking her kids to gymnastics camp on the daily despite the national government urging all U.S. citizens to stay quarantined.
Lilly downplayed the virus when she described it as the basic “stomach flu” and even insinuated that the entire pandemic was a mere political ploy during election season.
To make matters worse, Lilly lives with her father who has stage 4 leukemia; yet she refused to quarantine herself, in spite of knowing that those with a weakened immune system have a skyrocketed risk of contracting and dying due to COVID-19.
“Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives. We all make our choices,” Lilly said in an Instagram comment.
Her lack of concern for her own family members reflected her flawed values, somehow beating Vanessa Hudgens in the nonexistent competition for horrible opinions on coronavirus.
Vanessa Hudgens: I have the worst take on this global pandemic.
Evangeline Lilly: Hold my Corona
— Meredith Lee (@meralee727) March 19, 2020
On a lighter note, some celebrities have been trying to lighten the mood by posting uplifting (also somewhat hilarious) things on social media.
Still, it seems as though some celebrities have been doing everything but donating to help coronavirus. A bunch of rich people singing John Lennon’s Imagine from their multimillion dollar mansions screams, “I’m saving my money for stuff I actually care about.”
Their efforts to calm fans down may be taken into heart, but what is someone dying in the hospital going to do with Sia posting about virUS?
https://twitter.com/Sia/status/1241837999236636672
https://twitter.com/sidetolaufer/status/1240429770137100291?s=20
Nonetheless, amidst a time of fear and chaos, we can only hope for things to turn out for the better. So stay home and be the type of person who values their life and the lives of those around them over freedom.
