Ryan Reynolds' Humbling Message For Celebs During The Pandemic
Ryan Reynolds is taking aim at his fellow celebrities for making the ongoing coronavirus pandemic all about them. Although he was seemingly inspired to give his two cents off the back of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau starting a social media chain to spread awareness about the virus, the Deadpool star clearly had plenty of others in his sights too.
In particular, those who took part in Gal Gadot's widely-derided celeb-tastic rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine," which found big-name stars including James Marsden and Will Ferrell recording themselves somberly singing the song as a way to encourage the "little people" to stay positive during these turbulent times.
Ryan Reynolds was inspired by Justin Trudeau
In typically frank form, Reynolds prefaced his video, posted to Twitter, with: "Another important message from an important celebrity." He began the short clip, in which he's sitting on the sofa wearing a pair of serious-looking specs with, "Thank you, Prime Minister Trudeau," acknowledging, "We need to work together to flatten the curve and fight off COVID-19."
Reynolds was mirroring, and perhaps mocking, how Trudeau took to social media, following his wife testing positive for the virus, to kick off an online chain of high-profile celebrities, encouraging them to help him #PlankTheCurve. Canadian stars including Shawn Mendes, Seth Rogen, Drake, and Michael Bublé were all subsequently called to action. The term deployed by Trudeau, as silly as it might sound, actually came from Canada's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, who, according to The Star, advised, "We don't just need to flatten the curve, we need to plank it and we need everyone from government to communities, families, and individuals to work together."
Ryan Reynolds wants us to take this pandemic seriously
The Deadpool star's hilarious PSA went on to detail the many ways celebs' input is "helping" in the current climate. "I think in times of crisis, I think we all know that it's the celebrities that we count on most. They're the ones that are going to get us through this... right after health care workers, of course," he quipped. Reynolds then listed several other types of workers of higher importance, including first responders and ping pong players, "Like 400 other types of people," who are above Hollywood stars in this instance.
The Canadian actor did, however, turn serious at the end of his video, encouraging viewers to, "Stay at home, practice social distancing, wash your hands," and promised we would prevail as long as we all work together. Reynolds is certainly putting his money where his mouth is, having recently donated $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada alongside his wife, Blake Lively, to assist in their efforts during the pandemic.