Today in bad celebrity takes on coronavirus, Evangeline Lilly is refusing to self-quarantine because she values her "freedom."
"#businessasusual" the 40-year-old actress hashtagged a post on Monday. "Just dropped my kids off at gymnastics camp. They all washed their hands before going in. They are playing and laughing."
Oh shit! Did Kate from Lost just call us suckers? I think she did. She definitely did when responding to fans inquiring why the hell her kids are rolling around on sweaty mats with other irresponsibly non-quarantined children.
"I am also immune compromised at the moment," Lilly wrote. "...Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives. We all make our choices."
We certainly do all make choices. Just as we do live in a society. The actress, more recently known for playing The Wasp in the Ant-Man franchise, is explicitly refusing to limit her or her two kids' contact with others, despite the fact that she's living with her father who has stage four leukemia, putting him at high risk for COVID-19. In fact, she seems to think her high-risk home situation gives her authority on how to take precautions against the virus.
She went full "wake up sheeple" explaining that she considers coronavirus simply a "respiratory flu," that global governments are using to justify a power grab.
"Where we are right now feels a lot too close to Marshall Law [sic] for my comfort already, all in the name of a respiratory flu," she responded to another comment. "It's unnerving… Let's be vigilant right now. And kind. Watchful and gracious — keeping a close eye on our leaders, making sure they don't abuse this moment to steal away more freedoms and grab more power."
Based on the link in her bio for a petition to stop the use of facial recognition technology on college campuses, and recent post on the topic referencing 1984, Lilly is very concerned about fascism and the surveillance state, and perhaps a bit prone to conspiracy theories. "There's 'something' every election year," she wrote.
Look Evangeline... I get it. I'm also tired of getting sponsored Instagram ads for Morning Star patties and almond milk every time I futilely wonder aloud about going vegan. But this simply isn't a "don't let the bastards get you down"-type situation.
Scientists and citizens are currently pushing governments like the US to move faster and take more extreme measures to slow the spread of the virus. "President Trump recommended strict new guidelines, but they fell short of what experts wanted" says the New York Times, reporting on France and San Francisco's shelter-in-place policies. Self-isolating isn't a matter of valuing freedom, it's about consideration for people more vulnerable than yourself, like (aside from the sick or those who've lost loved ones) the thousands currently being laid off or living in cities where hospitals are close to capacity.
Lilly's take on the pandemic makes Vanessa Hudgens seem well-informed, but we'll surely see more competitors in this race to the bottom. It's unclear where the Canadian-born actress is currently living: all the more reason to stay home.
Photo via Getty