‘It’s okay to cry’: Celebrities keep their distance to cope with coronavirus
The stars are not out these days.
Amid coronavirus fears, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Arnold Schwarzenegger and more celebrities are taking to social media to demonstrate social distancing and encourage others to follow their lead by staying home and avoiding crowded spaces.
Swift penned a message to her fans Sunday on Instagram, imploring Swifties to take CDC-recommended measures to “isolate” themselves in order to protect others.
Forget six degrees of separation. Elton John and David Beckham have joined actor Kevin Bacon’s social-distancing campaign to combat the spread of coronavirus.
“I follow you online and I love you guys so much and need to express my concern that things aren’t being taken seriously enough right now,” the “Lover” singer wrote on her Instagram story. “I’m seeing lots of get togethers and hangs and parties still happening.
“This is the time to cancel plans, actually truly isolate as much as you can, and don’t assume that because you don’t feel sick that you aren’t possibly passing something on to someone elderly or vulnerable to this. It’s a really scary time but we need to make social sacrifices right now.”
In a social media post captioned “please,” fellow pop phenom Grande warned against downplaying the severity of the pandemic and begged people — especially the young and healthy — to “care more about others. like now.”
“I keep hearing from a surprising amount of people statements like ‘this isn’t a big deal’ / ‘we’ll be fine’ ... ‘we still have to go about our lives’ and it’s really blowing my mind,” the “Thank U, Next” hitmaker wrote. “I understand if that is how you felt weeks ago, but please read about what’s going on. please don’t turn a blind eye.
“It is incredibly dangerous and selfish to take this situation that lightly. The ‘we will be fine because we’re young’ is putting people who aren’t young and/or healthy in a lot of danger. you sound stupid and privileged.”
Others, like Lizzo and Schwarzenegger, took a more subtle approach, leading by example and sharing their own self-quarantine activities. Clad in a “Terminator” shirt, Schwarzenegger lighted up the internet after posting a video of himself enjoying isolation with his pet pony, Whiskey, and donkey, Lulu.
“The important thing is that you stay home,” the 72-year-old actor-politician said while feeding his furry friends. “After you’re 65, you’re not allowed out of the house anymore in California, so we stay home, and we eat here. ... We don’t go out. We don’t go to restaurants. We don’t do anything like that anymore here.”
Meanwhile, music’s patron saint of self-care passed the time by practicing her famous instrument of choice: the flute. Lizzo also addressed recent concert cancellations that she and other musicians have had to make due to increasing public health concerns.
“Because I Love You,” Lizzo wrote under a nearly 30-minute Instagram video in which she was surrounded by crystals. “A meditation and mantra to promote healing during this global crisis. Use at your own pace. Love you!”
See what more stars are doing to #FlattenTheCurve below.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
