We’ve seen quite a few reactions to the recent COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic from celebrities. On the one hand, you have folks that have been infected by the illness, such as Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, and Olga Kurylenko, talking about how you have to take the crisis seriously and keep your health (and the health of others) in your mind at all times. On the other hand, you have folks like Evangeline Lilly, one of the stars of Marvel Studios’ ‘Ant-Man’ franchise, that aren’t all that concerned and ignoring the basic regulations we’re all trying to abide by.
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In a recent post on Instagram, Lilly shared a picture of her morning tea, with a caption that seems to promote certain ideas that the US government and the World Health Organization have been suggesting.
Lilly wrote, “Just dropped my kids off at gymnastics camp. They all washed their hands before going in. They are playing and laughing. #businessasusual.”
Now, you can chalk that caption up to a bit of ignorance that many people have felt when they defied the suggestions of government officials and attempted to keep everything “business as usual.” But in her replies to people that shared concerns with her post (via PageSix), Lilly seems to clarify her original comments and showing that she’s just more defiant than the average citizen.
“I am also immune compromised at the moment,” she wrote to a fan. “I have two young kids. Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives. We all make our choices.”
“Where we are right now feels a lot too close to Marshall Law [sic] for my comfort already, all in the name of a respiratory flu,” Lilly added in another reply. “It’s unnerving…Let’s be vigilant right now. And kind. Watchful and gracious — keeping a close eye on our leaders, making sure they don’t abuse this moment to steal away more freedoms and grab more power.”
And perhaps the most telling of all, Lilly replied to another fan by suggesting that perhaps all this panic and media coverage is an election year tactic.
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“There’s ‘something’ every election year,” she suggested.
With all respect to Evangeline Lilly (I’m a huge fan of “Lost,” the MCU, and I’ll even defend “Real Steel”), those are pretty stupid comments. It’s been proven, time and time again, in light of other people saying similar things, that the COVID-19 pandemic is something that should be taken seriously. And all that Lilly is doing by keeping “business as usual” is potentially spreading the illness and causing more harm than good, even if she or her kids don’t show symptoms.
Oh well, let’s check in on what Dame Judi Dench thinks about this global pandemic: