ABC/Rick Rowell(NEW YORK) — Stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger called out an alarming trend she’s seeing among celebrities during the COVID-19 pandemic: taking selfies with ventilator masks.
The Spenser Confidential actress on Thursday argued that practice erodes morale and, if anything, comes across as people flaunting their wealth — especially since masks are in short supply.
“There is an inordinate amount of celebrities posing with special ventilator masks and I cannot help but think that this is a sort of weird COVID-19 humble brag,” Shlesinger explained, saying she finds it “sick.”
The comedian clarified that she is not calling out those who need such masks, but is focusing her disappointment at perfectly healthy celebrities who are self-quarantining at home and, therefore, really have no use for them.
The Last Comic Standing winner said such offenders posting selfies of that kind basically tell their fans, “Look at this special mask I got and you guys can’t afford it. But, I’m a celebrity so I was given something special.”
Surmised Iliza, “I think the idea is not to try and rub it in the faces of those who can’t get them.” Instead, she proposed, “if you have one of those masks, if you do get special treatment, maybe for morale don’t go flaunting it.”
The Truth & Iliza star further elaborated her stance in the caption, saying that if one is going to show off their mask just to brag about it, they “May as well pose with your stockpiled toilet paper holding a rifle.”
Overall, Shlesinger encouraged her fellow celebrities to “try to think of others when you can.”
Medical supplies, namely surgical masks, are in critical demand in hospitals country-wide as it’s reported there’s not enough. The federal government projects that a billion masks might be needed over the next six months.
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