The coronavirus has started a worldwide pandemic. When the virus touched down in America, some people thought it was a hoax. Now that America has reported the highest number of cases in the world, we all know how serious the coronavirus is.
There are a lot of celebrities who have tested positive for COVID-19. The first celebrities that most people knew tested positive for COVID-19 were Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson. While in Australia, the couple felt ill with flu-like symptoms. In an Instagram post, Hanks wrote “We have COVID-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. There are those for whom it could lead to a very serious illness. We are taking it one day at a time.”
Another well-known celebrity that tested positive for COVID-19 was Idris Elba. “I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out my possible exposure virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing. No Panic,” Elba said on a Twitter post.
Both these celebrities are actors, but there have been a lot of NBA players that have also tested positive for COVID-19. Center for the Utah Jazz Rudy Gobert tested positive two days after he tried to make a point in a press conference, by touching all the microphones in the room. Nobody knows if this is where he contracted the virus, but it couldn’t have helped his case. Teammates say his recklessness in the locker room led to another teammate, Donavan Mitchell, testing positive for the coronavirus. After finding out that Rudy Gobert tested positive, the NBA began testing players that had recently played against them. This led to many other players testing positive for COVID-19. People such as NBA superstar Kevin Durant, two unidentified Los Angeles Lakers players and Detroit Pistons center Christian Woods all tested positive. Ultimately, this situation led to the NBA suspending the rest of the season. NBA was one of the first organizations to suspend their season, followed by all other national sports organizations.
One thing a lot of celebrities are doing to provide help during this pandemic is donating money. Kevin Love was the first professional athlete in the NBA to donate money to event staff at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. On social media, he said he would give $100,000 to the workers. After Kevin Love, many professional athletes began to give back to the workers of their teams’ organization. Many have also donated to help with the coronavirus relief. One NBA superstar in particular, Joel Embied, donated $500,000 to the coronavirus relief. Almost all NBA organizations have implemented some type of package that still continues to pay their workers.
Other celebrities have been using their boredom to create revenue through their social media pages. They have been using things such as Instagram Live to keep themselves and others entertained. For example, artists such as Tory Lanez and French Montana planned on having a hit-for-hit challenge on Instagram Live. They were going to play their songs against each other, one after another. Unfortunately, French Montana couldn’t stream at the time so he planned something else.
During his Instagram Live he kept calling his video “quarantine live radio” as he began inviting many other famous artists to tune in because he was about to start a twerk contest. Inviting other really famous artists such as Chris Brown, Drake, Megan Thee Stallion and The Weekend led to him breaking the record for most Instagram Live viewers. When Drake was on Instagram with Tory Lanez, the viewer count reached 310,00.
One celebrity that was recently locked up for nine different charges, one of them being gang affiliation, actually got a break because of the coronavirus. Rapper Tekashi 69 was released from prison early because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. His motion for compassionate release was granted on Thursday, April 2. 6ix9nine will be on supervised release and will serve the first four months on home incarceration, which is enforced through GPS. During the coronavirus pandemic, he will have to stay at his home unless he asks permission from the probation department for medical treatment or to meet and talk with his attorney. The number one suggestion from all of these celebrities is to stay inside and stay healthy.
Jordan Wilson
jmwilson@vwu.edu
