How Celebrities Are Coping With The Pandemic

They might be confined in one of their luxurious villas, spending their time writing their latest memoirs or keeping busy with social gigs online, but for some of them, there is much more than an Instagram live moment during the Coronavirus pandemic.

In the entertainment industry, celebrities have postponed and cancelled tours, movie and television sets have also shut down productions, while events such as awards shows and festivals have also been put on hold.  With no red carpet premieres or awards shows to attend, now stars are stepping up to help.

With the situation and economy looking more difficult with each passing day, celebrities are offering as much the support they can. Some musicians are sharing their talents, providing live streams of performances to keep fans entertained. Others are donating not only their time but their resources, to provide aid to the less fortunate in their communities and around the world.

CrunchyTales has dug around to find out the way some of our favourite stars are experiencing these unsettling time and also giving back during the crisis.

Oprah Winfrey: “I’m really OK in retreat from everyone”

The media mogul has been busy working despite being stuck at home. She interviewed actor Idris Elba, who tested positive for coronavirus, through FaceTime for an episode of ‘Oprah Talks: Covid-19‘ on Apple TV.

When asked about how she is continuing to do work from her home, she said: “What did we do before Zoom is what I’d like to know? How could we do it without Zoom? I don’t even know.” She also said she is enjoying the downtime: “Don’t be hating because I’m having a really good time. I’m really OK in retreat from everyone. I’m really OK with it.” Oprah, 66, also revealed her donation on Instagram, stating that $1 million will be going to America’s Food Fund. The rest of the $9 million will be going to other organizations across the country.

Angelina Jolie: “Children don’t want you perfect”.

Writing for the Time magazine’s Parents newsletter, the actress (44), has shared her challenging time at home with her kids. “Now, in the midst of this pandemic – she said- I think of all the mothers and fathers with children at home. All hoping they can do everything right, answer all needs, and stay calm and positive. One thing that has helped me is to know that’s impossible. However, it is a lovely thing to discover that your children don’t want you perfect. They just want you honest. I realized I stopped my constant daydreaming, instead staying always ready for any break into what I was doing or thinking to answer a need. It was a new skill to acquire.”

Angelina Jolie has also donated $1 million to No Kid Hungry, an organization that works to end childhood hunger. “As of this week, over a billion children are out of school worldwide because of closures linked to coronavirus,” she said in a statement. “Many children depend on the care and nutrition they receive during school hours, including nearly 22 million children in America who rely on food support. No Kid Hungry is making resolute efforts to reach as many of those children as possible.”

Dolly Parton: “Keep the faith, it’s going to be alright”

The country music icon, 74, has urged fans to “keep the faith” in a video shared to her 3.1m Instagram followers, as she said she was maintaining a positive attitude during the world crisis. “I know that I have a positive attitude about it as negative as it seems to be right now – she explains-. So just keep the faith, don’t be too scared, it’s gonna be alright, God loves us.”

The video comes after Dolly announced she will read bedtime stories for kids in a new program entitled ‘Goodnight With Dolly‘, a 10-week series that will focus on “comforting and reassuring children” during the coronavirus pandemic, which has left many forced to stay in their homes. She said: “This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right. I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honour for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think.” For ‘Goodnight with Dolly’, the country singer will read from a number of popular books including ‘The Little Engine That Could’, ‘There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake’, ‘Llama Llama Red Pajama’, ‘I Am a Rainbow’.

She is also making a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University to aid in its research toward finding a cure for COVID-19. The singer tweeted about her donation on March 31, stating: “My longtime friend Dr Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me they were making some exciting advancements towards the research of the coronavirus for a cure.”

Gwyneth Paltrow: “Let’s keep our heroic medical teams healthy”

Apart from revealing family tensions and hints at sexual frustration during coronavirus lockdown, the Oscar-winner actress (and controversial entrepreneur, founder of the lifestyle brand ‘Goop‘) Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband Brad Falchuk, who have taken part in a YouTube advice session with an intimacy coach whilst confined at home, have reportedly donated $100,000 to help health workers. In an Instagram post, the actress said she was supporting the Frontline Responders Fund. “Along with ramping up testing, the single most critical need in the frontline fight against Covid is keeping our heroic medical teams healthy through full PPE gear which is in terribly short supply,” Paltrow said. “If doctors and nurses and other hospital staff get sick they can’t keep working to save the rest of us. Access to the gear is available in enormous numbers. But serious logistics are required to get it fast to US hospitals that urgently need it.” The actress starred as ‘Patient 0‘ in the 2011 pandemic film ‘Contagion‘, which has seen a huge spike in viewing figures during the outbreak, and referenced her role in a previous Instagram post showing herself wearing a mask.