What Was Vanessa Hudgens Thinking with These Comments About Coronavirus?

Louisa Ballhaus
·3 min read

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In this new time of coronavirus, celebrities have had a range of reactions, from sharing their at-home quarantine activities to putting their money and time into charity initiatives to help those most affected. But one celeb has gone the opposite direction with her response. Vanessa Hudgens shocked Instagram last night with an insensitive rant about coronavirus, calling the quarantine estimate “bullshit” and suggesting that casualties were inevitable anyway. The backlash has been severe, and the actress is already issuing an apology — of sorts — on social media.

In the Instagram Live, which no longer lives on Hudgens’s page but has been captured by fans, the High School Musical star says this: “Yeah…’til July sounds like a bunch of bullshit. I’m sorry, but like — it’s a virus. I get it, I respect it, but at the same time, even if everybody gets it…yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible but like inevitable?”

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“I don’t know,” she concludes. “Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this right now.” Ya think?

The whole video was obviously a major yikes, mostly stemming from Hudgens’s apparent disregard for the well-being of other humans. While the Hollywood elite likely feel safe in their access to medical care (not to mention testing) if they do get infected, that’s not true for the rest of us. That’s exactly what this quarantine is about: Staying inside not because you, personally, fear becoming ill, but because you care enough about those are at-risk to do everything in your power to stop the virus from spreading in your community.

Clearly, these are not questions that Hudgens has carefully considered. On her Instagram story today, she said this: “Hey guys. So yesterday, I did an instagram live and I realized today that some of my comments are being taken out of context.”

“It’s a crazy time,” she continued. “I am at home and in lockdown and that’s what I hope you guys are doing too.”

Hudgens never clarified what she meant by “context,” but I’m having a hard time picturing a context that justifies those comments. I’m glad Hudgens at least took the time to tell her considerable fan base they should be respecting social distancing rules, but that’s about the only silver lining I can find here. Mostly, I’m disappointed that she would be so thoughtless at a time when so many are afraid. We look to public figures for hope and guidance — and Hudgens really, really failed us.

Vanessa Hudgens’s video was truly shocking — as are these 20 celebrity tell-all memoirs.

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