8 Celebrities I'll Always Associate With The Pandemic, For Better Or For Worse

    The pandemic has become a major part of our adult lives.

    Abha Ahad
    by Abha Ahad

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    Somehow, there are certain pop culture icons that just come to mind when we think about the last few years. Here are 8 celebrities who I think of when I talk about the pandemic.

    NBC Universal

    1. Madonna

    Madonna on stage
    Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS

    Madonna has never been one to shy away from controversies and it is no wonder that she had some strong statements to make about the pandemic. Although, some of these aren't gonna age well. In March of 2020,  in a video posted on her Instagram and Twitter handles she called COVID-19 the "great equalizer." An insanely rich celebrity posting that from the comfort of her home wasn't accepted well by her fans. Later on, she faced the wrath of the online population when she reposted a video by a misinformation-spreading doctor. She called the doctor her "hero" and Instagram tagged the story with a content warning for false information. Both the posts were taken down later.

    2. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

    Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson smiling at the camera
    David Livingston / Getty Images for Fashion Media

    Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were one of the first celebrities to have contracted the coronavirus. On March 11, 2020, Hanks shared that both of them had tested positive for the virus while preparing to shoot for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic in Australia. Later on, in an episode of Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!, he announced that both of them have volunteered to donate blood and plasma for a COVID-19 vaccination.  

    3. DJ D-Nice

    D-Nice at an event
    Shareif Ziyadat / Getty Images

    During the initial days of the pandemic, DJ D-Nice started "Club Quarantine", a series of daily virtual parties on Instagram live that brought people together during the stay-at-home mandates. "Club Quarantine" started out on March 19, 2020, with 250 attendees and quickly grew to an audience of more than 100,000, the attendees including Rihanna, Ophrah, and Michelle Obama.

    4. Ellen Degeneres

    Ellen smiling at the camera
    Randy Holmes / ABC via Getty Images

    According to anonymous sources quoted by Variety, the staff of Ellen was kept in the dark about their working hours and pay. Finally, when they did receive official communication they were asked to anticipate a 60% cut in their salaries despite the show being on air. “That ‘be kind’ bullshit only happens when the cameras are on. It’s all for show. I know they give money to people and help them out, but it’s for the show,” said a former employee to BuzzFeed News. 

    5. Daniel Dae Kim

    Kim speaking at an event
    Kevin Winter / Getty Images for Deadline Hollywood

    On March 19, 2020, Daniel Dae Kim took to Instagram and posted a 10-minute video about his experience of testing positive for the virus. In the video, he used his platform to raise his voice against the anti-Asian hatred that had sprung up during the pandemic.  "Please, please stop the prejudice and senseless violence against Asian people," he urged viewers. "Yes, I’m Asian, and yes, I have coronavirus. But I did not get it from China. I got it in America, in New York City. And despite what certain political leaders want to call it, I don’t consider the place that it’s from as important as the people who are sick and dying. If I did, I would call this thing the New York virus. But that would be silly, right?"

    6. Lady Gaga

    Lady Gaga at the Grammys
    Frazer Harrison / Getty Images for The Recording Academy

    During the pandemic, Lady Gaga curated the One World: Together At Home concert organized by the Global Citizen of New York in support of the World Health Organization. This global broadcast special helped raise $128 million for frontline health workers.  "I feel very honored to be a part of the World Health Organization and Global Citizen in the fight against COVID-19 and raising money for the Solidarity Response Fund. I care so much about all of the medical workers that are putting their lives at risk for us right now. I think of them every day, I pray for them every day, and I’m also thinking of all of you that are at home, who are wondering when this is all going to be different," Gaga said during the broadcast.

    7. Chris Cuomo

    Chris Cuoma poses
    Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty Images

    A former CNN anchor, Chris Cuomo is a notable public face of the pandemic thanks to his show Cuomo Prime Time, and the banter-filled interviews with his brother and New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. However, Chris lost his job after it came to light that he used his media sources and credentials to help with his brother's sexual harassment allegations. 

    8. Evangeline Lilly

    Lilly smiling at the camera
    Roy Rochlin / Getty Images

    In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Lilly posted on Instagram saying that she'd dropped off her kids at gymnastics camp, which she called "business as usual," despite orders to social distance and curb the spread of the coronavirus. When fans left comments criticizing her for ignoring experts' recommendations, she defended herself saying that some people value their freedom and called the virus "respiratory flu". Later, she released another post apologizing for her actions and informed fans that she is indeed practicing social distancing.