By Nelson Santana
March 26, 2020
Once more, the colorful hip hop artist and humane philosopher Cardi B came swinging on behalf of the underprivileged. According to the rapper, celebrities are creating waves of confusion for the general public with regard to the coronavirus. She also noted how society’s most vulnerable are being neglected by the government in favor of celebrities and the wealthy.
In her latest coronavirus video, Cardi B made important observations through her insightful commentary. First, she noted that the general public, the working class, the middle class do not have access to COVID-19 testing, unlike celebrities and the wealthy. Second, she pointed out that celebrities’ messages of how they are feeling well after testing positive for COVID-19 are unintentionally harmful to their community of followers. She said, "But if a celebrity is saying, 'Hey, listen. I don't have no symptoms. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling healthy. I don't feel like nothing, but I went and got tested and I'm positive for the coronavirus,' That cause confusion."
As noted by Cardi, several celebrities who tested positive for COVID-19 have posted on the status of their health on social media. Some known celebrities that have tested positive to the virus include actor Idris Elba, NBA star Kevin Durant, singer Jackson Browne, radio and television host Andy Cohen, actor Tom Hanks, and actress and songwriter Rita Wilson. Recently NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns sent a heartwarming message asking people to take the threat of coronavirus seriously, noting in his message that his mother is in a medically induced coma after showing symptoms.
COVID-19 Background
Cardi has been an ardent supporter of Bernie Sanders and major critic of President Donald Trump. Initially, President Trump downplayed the severity of the coronavirus. However, in recent days, the United States has called its residents to stay home except for necessary runs to the supermarket or to report to work deemed essential by the government. As of Wednesday night, more than 520,000 people have been infected with more than 23,000 deaths worldwide. In the United States, 81,996 cases have been confirmed with 1,177 deaths. Nearly half of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the United States are in the State of New York.
Key quotes from Cardi B’s video:
"Where do they think they sending people home to?"
"Everyone doesn't have the luxury ... to go in a big ass house and just stay away from people."
"The general public, people that work regular jobs, the middle class, people that get regular paychecks, the poor or whatever the crap, they're not getting treated like the high — the ones that are up here, the celebrities and everything. They're not getting their fucking coronavirus results the next day. The coronavirus is very much real."
"A lot of people live in small-ass apartments with multiple people."
"Some people don't even have enough money to f---ing afford health care."
"I feel like the government should take that shit ... and not charge people for it, because at the end of the day this shit could've been prevented when they found out about this shit a couple of months ago and the shit it was doing in China."
"So it's like if you're sending me home and I have the corona-f---ing-virus I'm most likely going to give it to my spouse, my kids, anybody that's around me."
Cardi B’s Coronavirus Remix?
Several days earlier Cardi B posted a 46-second video on Instagram, expressing her concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The colorful artist’s words were remixed by DJ iMarkkezy into a song, titled “Coronavirus,” and others followed suit by remixing their own versions of Cardi’s soundbite.
Regardless of how one may feel toward Cardi B, the truth is that she genuinely cares about people, a redeeming quality that some elected officials, celebrities, and the wealthy lack.