Chrissy Teigen is calling for kindness in the age of coronavirus, especially in regards to the internet’s current punching bag, Vanessa Hudgens.
The “High School Musical” alum came under fire earlier this week for her flippant response to the pandemic that has swept across at least 150 countries in recent weeks and killed more than 8,000 people globally.
“Even if everybody gets it, like yeah, people are going to die, which is terrible… but inevitable?” Hudgens said on Instagram Live on Monday, sparking a major backlash on social media.
After the “Rent: Live” star issued an apology for her “not at all appropriate” response to the crisis, Teigen is sticking up for the actor by calling off a Twitter pile-on.
“Sometimes people, especially famous people, are gonna say really stupid shit. & so are you,” the cookbook author tweeted on Tuesday. “And they, and u, will learn from it & hopefully their history says they’re good. It’s ok. And at the same time, wow they really had a dumb fuckin moment. But u don’t have [to] ruin their lives.”
The former supermodel went onto remind her followers that “this isn’t about me this time” but “it will be one day, or it’ll be you.”
“But yeah today it’s Vanessa lol,” she continued, adding in a separate tweet, “and no, life is rarely ruined for anyone. But you are damn well trying your best. Just stop.”
When Teigen started to get pushback from her own followers over the controversy, she doubled down on her empathy for Hudgens, while also acknowledging that the actor’s comments were “really dumb.”
One fan told the “Lip Sync Battle” host that celebrities should “think about the impact their words can have” given their massive followings.
Teigen agreed, but still called for compassion, writing, “We all have stupid moments and some people (like me) have a lot of passion and things don’t come out the way we mean it.”
“It sucks and she for sure feels terrible and just stop watching her stuff but the knives gotta go,” she wrote, later adding, “I promise promise promise I learned and she is learning now and that’s all you can ask for.”
It’s unclear whether Teigen has been in communication with Hudgens, who’s gone silent on social media since apologizing for her comments.
“Hey guys. I’m so sorry for the way I have offended anyone and everyone who has seen the clip from my Instagram Live yesterday,” Hudgens wrote in a note on Twitter. “I realize my words were insensitive and not at all appropriate for the situation our country and the world are in right now. This has been a huge wake up call about the significance my words have, now more than ever. I’m sending safe wishes to everyone to stay safe and healthy during this crazy time.”
Teigen went onto warn her followers about the toll dragging someone for sport on social media can take, noting, “Writing them over and over, the onslaught, it can drive a sane person insane and an unstable person to … worse.”
The mother of two said she was speaking from her own experiences as an internet presence who has weathered her fair share of controversy.
“Kids and online torture have made me a much more empathetic person,” she added. “May you never be on the end of everyone hating you.”
Teigen, meanwhile, is staying busy while social distancing by stealing the show during husband John Legend’s Instagram Live concerts.
The singer, as well as artists like Coldplay and Keith Urban are keeping fans entertained during lockdown with impromptu musical performances.
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