Vanessa Hudgens calls coronavirus shutdown 'bulls—,' people dying 'inevitable'

James Hibberd
·2 min read

And the award for the most insensitive-sounding celebrity reaction to the coronavirus pandemic goes to…Vanessa Hudgens!

The 31-year-old singer and actress gave some thoughts on COVID-19 during an Instagram Live on Monday, and the totally inconvenient social distancing and shutdown steps being undertaken by people and companies nationwide. It's been suggested the disruption could last until July, if not longer.

"Um, yeah, till July sounds like a bunch of bulls—, I'm sorry," said the Spring Breakers star. "It's a virus, I get it, I respect* it, but at the same time, even if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible, but like… inevitable? I dunno, maybe I shouldn't be doing this right now."

Maybe! Maybe you shouldn't have. But ya did.

Of course, most think it's a good idea to take measures to prevent the exponential spread of a deadly virus with a potentially catastrophic hospitalization rate that could easily overwhelm our health care system and result in the deaths of as many as 1.7 million people in the U.S. alone.

The blowback online to Hudgens' comments was not exactly subtle, and on Tuesday the actress issued two more statements.

The first was a follow-up video claiming remarks were "taken out of context," but she still didn't really walk it back.

"Some of my comments are being taken out of context," Hudgens said. "It's a crazy time. I'm at home in lockdown, and that's what I hope you guys are doing too. In full quarantine. And staying safe and sane. I don't take this situation lightly by any means. I am home. So stay inside, y'all."

The second was an apology statement (in text form this time): "I'm so sorry for the way i have offended anyone and everyone… I realize my words were insensitive and not at all appropriate for the situation our country and the world are in right now. This has been a huge wake up call about the significance my words have."

The news comes on the heels of celebrities such as Idris Elba, Tom Hanks, and Game of Thrones actor Kristofer Hivju revealing they've tested positive for the virus (and are all said to be experiencing mild symptoms and doing well).