Your Quarantine is Not Like Ours
Celebrities promote staying at home, when their home happens to be a mansion in the hills. (Illustration by Carolyn Burt / The Corsair)
While the world is thrown into chaos, America is in crisis, and everyday citizens are affected by the Covid-19 virus in some way or another, celebrities have beamed onto our screens to tell us to “stay positive” and “we’re all in this together." But as they remind us to stay indoors and give us their personal opinions on the matter, many find their attention focused on something else entirely. At the edges of the frames of videos, live streams, and picture posts, people can see grand archways, vast backyards, closets the size of small apartments, and bathrooms the size of classrooms.
“See this is what you do when you're home and have nothing to do. You work out, go to your gym...,” panted Ellen Degeneres in her state of the art home gym, watching her own show on a TV that folds out of her ceiling. “Staying home is my superpower,” reported Gal Gadot from her walk-in closet.
A breaking point however, seemed to be when Jennifer Lopez posted a video on Twitter showing her family in the backyard of Alex Rodriguez’s vast Miami compound saying, “We can’t go out to any restaurants or anything but the service and entertainment here is pretty good...#StaySafe.”
“We all hate you,” was one Twitter response. Others began comparing this to the second half of the movie, “Parasite”.
Many are getting a new sense of clarity about class inequality, and with many people’s lives on the line, a sense of bitterness comes with it. Everyone’s lives are frozen in time at the moment, whether in a tiny apartment or palace-like mansion. The idea that has been fed to the public that ‘they [celebrities] are just like us’ has never been more obviously further from the truth.
Celebrities now have a captive audience with heightened awareness that are ready and willing to take them to the metaphorical guillotine. In fact, a new hashtag has emerged called #guillotine2020 and some going so far to say that with grocery shelves empty, we should #eattherich.
There are dozens of examples of celebrities hitting a wrong note with fans. Gal Gadot’s attempt to arrange singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” with other celebrities was perhaps most famously criticized for being tone deaf, both literally and figuratively. Many found it insulting that these wealthy elites sing of no possessions when many in their fan base don’t have to imagine too hard.
A more rage inducing example could be Vanessa Hudgens’ Instagram live stream of her thoughts on the COVID-19 quarantine saying, “Like, yeah, people are gonna die, which is terrible, but like, inevitable?”
Backlash hit swiftly and hard with one Twitter response pointing out that, “some of the 'people' who are 'gonna die, but whatever' are beloved parents, grandparents. Some are immunocompromised coworkers. Some are young doctors and nurses and EMTs who spent years studying while you twirled your hair and now risk everything. DO BETTER.”
Hudgens only made it worse with her initial response saying that her comments were being “taken out of context” and that it’s a “crazy, crazy time”, but never actually apologizing. Later she released a formal written statement, apologizing for those she “may have hurt”.
Another famously known case was Madonna’s Instagram post of her taking a milk bath filled with rose petals, with expensive necklaces draped across her neck. Somber piano music played in the background, while she talked about how the virus has become the “great equalizer” in society. While some agreed with her sentiment and felt humbled by her words, others laughed at the dramatic nature of her video.
“Very dramatic. Get over yourself. We live in the real world,” said one post, while another pointed out something that is on a lot of people’s minds saying, “you sure about that? Covid testing...the rich and the famous seem to be getting tested without any issues...ahem.”
This is a common sentiment that is making the rounds, we may be in this together, but we are not equal. Even though celebs are just as susceptible to this virus as us, they are in a much better position to get tested and do not have to worry about the financial backlash this shutdown will cause.
“We are weathering the same storm,” said a post on Instagram, “but they are in a cruise ship or a yacht, while the rest of us are in row boats.”
However, not all celebs are being dragged through the mud. Pink in a recent virtual interview with Ellen commented on the social disparity that has become so painfully apparent.
"It's very controversial to people that I was able to get my hands on a test," Pink said. "I would say you should be angry that I can get a test and you can't... You should be angry about that, and we should work together to try and change that.”
Pink also donated $500,000 to a hospital in Philadelphia her mother worked at and again to Mayor Garcetti’s Emergency Covid-19 Crisis Fund.
“I think the difference between famous people who are being virtually attacked versus those that aren’t,” mused Jose Gomez, a part-time worker at a local grocery store, “is that the ones who are, are pointing the camera at themselves and sorta just thinking of themselves. For those that aren’t, they tend to point the camera toward the people and they really understand that they come from a place of privilege and that they [celebs] are not the cure for our fears.”
