Hollywood Superstars Lecture Americans on Coronavirus Rules, Mock Concern Over 'Rights Being Taken Away'
Tom Hanks and Jennifer Aniston have called for Americans to do their part by wearing a mask in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic while criticizing people who are allegedly politicizing the “simple” recommendation.
Reported COVID-19 cases have begun to spike in several states following reopening, and Hanks and Aniston have both released public statements encouraging their fans to maintain social distancing.
“There’s really only three things we can do in order to get to tomorrow: Wear a mask, social distance, wash our hands,” Hanks said Tuesday at a media conference to promote his upcoming movie “Greyhound,” People reported.
The Oscar winner and his wife, Rita Wilson, tested positive in early March for the novel coronavirus while they were in Australia.
The 63-year-olds have since made a complete recovery, but they have chosen to self-isolate in Los Angeles after their return to the United States.
Hanks made his public comments about people doing their part, drawing parallels between the movie and what the world is dealing with at the moment.
“Those things are so simple, so easy, if anybody cannot find it in themselves to practice those three very basic things — I just think shame on you,” he said.
“Don’t be a p—-, get on with it, do your part,” Hanks added.
“It’s very basic. If you’re driving a car, you don’t go too fast, you use your turn signal and you avoid hitting pedestrians. My Lord, it’s common sense.”
In an Instagram post, Aniston made a similar plea for people who “care about human life” to wear a mask.
“I understand masks are inconvenient and uncomfortable,” the “Friends” star wrote Tuesday.
“But don’t you feel that it’s worse that businesses are shutting down… jobs are being lost… health care workers are hitting absolute exhaustion. And so many lives have been taken by this virus because we aren’t doing enough.”
She added that she believes in the “basic goodness of people,” but said there are still many who are “refusing to take the necessary steps to flatten the curve, and keep each other safe.”
“People seem worried about their ‘rights being taken away’ by being asked to wear a mask,” Aniston continued.
“This simple and effective recommendation is being politicized at the expense of peoples’ lives. And it really shouldn’t be a debate.”
As of Wednesday morning, there were over 10.5 million cases of coronavirus worldwide, and 512,331 people have died from the disease, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins.
In the United States, there were over 2.6 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 127,400 fatalities as of Wednesday.
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