Vanessa Hudgens Coronavirus Death Toll Comments Controversy

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Overview

Vanessa Hudgens Coronavirus Death Toll Comments Controversy refers to a series of remarks made by actor Vanessa Hudgens about the coronavirus quarantine on Instagram Live. The comments sparked public outrage, prompting a public apology from Hudgens.

Background

On March 17th, 2020, Vanessa Hudgen published an Instagram Story about the coronavirus and the quarantine measures announced to reduce the spread of the virus (mirror below). She said, "Even if everybody gets it, like, yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible, but like, inevitable?"

Developments

Online Reaction

That day, journalist Yashar Ali shared the video with the tweeted, ^[1] "What a horrible and heartless message for you to share with the younger people who look up to you." The post helped spark a backlash toward Hudgens and received more than 43,000 likes and 5,600 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Writer Wajahat Ali tweeted,^[2] "@VanessaHudgens, I saw your video. I saw it twice to be fair. By the end, you seemed to realize your commets were reckless. I'm sure you're a good person. My daughter is 3, a cancer survivor with a new liver. She fought to live. She's immuno compromised. Think of her next time." The post received more than 10,000 likes and 730 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Hudgens' Apology

Shortly after the video went viral, Hudgens began apologizing for offending people. Later that day, Hudgens posted a video on Instagram saying that she doesn't "take the situation lightly" (mirror below).

Vanessa Hudgens responds to the backlash, saying her comments were taken out of context. pic.twitter.com/KCGSrHktaL

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 17, 2020

She also wrote an apology on Apple's Notes application and published it on Twitter.^[3] She wrote, "I'm sorry for the way I have offended anyone and everyone who has seen the clip from my Instagram live yesterday. I realize my words were insensitive and not at all appropriate for the situation our country and the world are in right now." The post received more than 25,000 likes and 2,400 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the controversy, including Newsweek,^[4] BuzzFeed, ^[5] CBS,^[6] BBC^[7] and more.

Search Interest

Not available.

External References