Without the public service announcements of days gone by, many celebrities have taken it upon themselves to use their social-media platforms to spread information and helpful messaging about coronavirus and social distancing. Idris Elba candidly discussed the process of testing positive. Mel Brooks and his son Max implored people to practice distancing for the sake of protecting the vulnerable. Arnold Schwarzenegger spread the word about shelter-in-place with the help of a miniature horse and a fuzzy donkey.
Vanessa Hudgens, on the other hand, decided to use this fraught time as an excuse to basically will a Thanos Snap into being, greeting the pandemic with a shrug. In an Instagram Live on March 16, Hudgens said of the real possibility that measures to battle the pandemic may extend into July:
’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, like, even if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are gonna die. Which is terrible, but like, inevitable? I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this right now.
Now, maybe it’s worth noting that Hudgens recently went through a breakup of an eight-year relationship with Austin Butler, or that this year’s Coachella cancellation has probably hit her harder than anyone. It’s also worth noting that as Hudgens greets the impossibility of widespread disease and death with a “meh,†a French version of “Fever†is playing in the background, which is almost too cheeky and chaotic. Hudgens addressed the video in her Instagram story on March 17, clarifying, “I’m at home and in lockdown and that’s what I hope you guys are doing too, in full quarantine. And staying safe and sane. Yeah. I don’t take this situation lightly. By any means. I am home. So stay inside, y’all.â€
She also posted a Notes app apology to Twitter after posting the Instagram story, calling her wording “insensitive and not at all appropriate for the situation our country and the world are in right now,†adding that the outcry has been “a huge wake up call about the significance my words have, now more than ever.â€
She really did a Princess Switch on that one.