A day after it was first reported that the White House spent $300 million on an advertising campaign to “defeat despair†in the country about the coronavirus pandemic, one of the celebrities involved in the ads, Dennis Quaid, is defending his decision to participate. In an Instagram video posted on September 26, Quaid, who had previously praised President Trump’s response to the virus, said that he’s “feeling some outrage and a lot of disappointment†about the response to his involvement and “cancel-culture media†is twisting his words. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I did a PSA for Dr. Anthony Fauci and he was kind enough to grant me an interview as well, and the interview and the PSA were about raising awareness of COVID-19 and what we can still do to prevent lives being lost to this terrible, terrible virus,†Quaid explained. “It was about the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing and it was in no way political. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci and I both talked about it before that it was not to be political, as the virus is not political.â€
Quaid also asserted that he wasn’t paid anything for his participation in the ad blitz, which Politico reported was directly ordered by Trump to the Department of Health and Human Services. “I am really disappointed that some people who call themselves legitimate reporters,†he said, “don’t do their homework.†(The interview between Quaid and Dr. Fauci is available to listen for free on Quaid’s podcast.) In addition to Quaid, gospel singer CeCe Winans participated in the PSA campaign. Winans was paired with Surgeon General Jerome Adams for an interview about the coronavirus, a decision that she, too, insisted “was not political at all.â€