Celebrities are not just like us. That’s always been the case, but it feels a little more obvious right now, with Instagrams and Tiktoks showing famous people self-quarantining in some very nice houses. That doesn’t mean they don’t have their own problems, of course. Clearly, they do. But it does mean they’ve got more of a cushion between them and the sort of problems that, say, you might face.
This isn’t their fault, necessarily, but it can make some of their attempts to express solidarity come across as a little tone-deaf. The best thing they can really do — the best anyone in a position of privilege can do — is acknowledge it. And credit where it’s due, that’s what Miley Cyrus is doing. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cyrus admitted that her experience with the coronavirus is going to be very different than most of ours.
“I know I’m in a unique position, and my experience with this pandemic is not like most everyone else’s in my country and around the world.”
“My life has been pushed pause on, but really I have no idea what this pandemic is like,” she explained. “I am comfortable in my space and able to put food on my table and [I am] financially stable, and that’s just not the story for a lot of people.”
She added that her DIY Instagram Live show Bright Minded has had a tough time booking a-list guests, she thinks, because famous people are nervous about exposing their own levels of safety and security when those things are in such short supply.
“I’m sure some people I was reaching out to felt the same way I do, which is that my experience is so rare, it almost doesn’t feel right to talk about,” she said. “I’m sure a lot of the hesitation for other people saying yes to doing the show is because it almost doesn’t feel right for celebrities to share our experience. Because it just doesn’t compare.”
