Social media became a bit of a firestorm over remarks made by Vanessa Hudgens on her Instagram account on Tuesday. The actress made some… interesting comments about calls for long-term social distancing amid growing concerns over coronavirus, which were immediately scorned by fellow social media users who found her remarks to be insensitive, to say the least. Hours after Hudgens’ initial remarks, comedian Randy Rainbow weighed in with his perspective.
Are we calling it yet on Vanessa Hudgens being the first celebrity to get quarantine-cancelled?
— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) March 17, 2020
Rainbow hypothesized that Hudgens could be “the first celebrity to get quarantine-canceled” in light of her remarks. The quarantine reference is obvious, given circumstances both across the U.S. and around the globe. However, the reference to “cancel culture,” shorthand for celebrities who catch flack for their remarks. In this case, Hudgens’ comments could lead to assorted repercussions, albeit it will likely be limited to social media.
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“‘Til July sounds like a bunch of bulls—, I’m sorry,” Hudgens said in her original post. “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.”
Along with lamenting to her nearly 40 million Instagram followers that she wished she was in a pub for St. Patrick’s Day, Hudgens later apologized for the remarks.
“I realize my words were insensitive,” she said in another post. “This has been a huge wake-up call about the significance my words have.”
The High School Musical star’s remarks strike a distinctly different tone from the celebrities who’ve rallied behind the idea of both self-quarantining and social distancing, both of which are being encouraged by health officials, as well as the federal government, to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.
In fact, her High School Musical co-star, Ashley Tisdale, even used a song from the film, “We’re All in This Together” to make her own video as a direct response to Hudgens’ initial remarks. To show that she’d taken the blowback to heart, Hudgens even joined in the fun and edited her own video along with Tisdale’s.
For information on actions that can be taken to help slow the spread of coronavirus, the World Health Organization has helpful advice for the public on its website.
