Regina King thinks it can be “insulting” when celebrities ask people to “stay at home” amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The “Watchmen” star says she tries to “be very careful” about what she says to people regarding the global health crisis because, while it is easy for celebrities to stay at home to limit the spread of the virus, others aren’t in a “financial situation” that allows them to take time away from work.
Speaking to Reese Witherspoon for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, she explained: “At the end of the day, the reality is the reality. There’s not going to be a vaccine anytime soon. We have to understand that while we’re telling people, ‘Stay home, stay home,’ there are people out there who are not in financial situations that — to say that to them is almost insulting, coming from certain messengers.
“So I try to be very careful about saying that too much because I do understand that some people don’t know where their next meal is going to be right now in this moment.”
Meanwhile, the 49-year-old actress also recently spoke out about racism in America after the death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests that have been taking place throughout the country, as she said she feels “optimistic” that change will come.
She said: “I am managing a balance of optimism with the pain.
“This is the first time ever in my life that I’ve seen people in other countries supporting at the top of their lungs at Black people.
“You know, to see in Italy and Germany and all of these different places, people taking a knee and have signs that say Black Lives Matter.
“America is always the country that’s going to the aid of someone else, but that other countries are speaking out for not just America, but Black Americans — it makes me hopeful.”
And King has been speaking to her 24-year-old son Ian Alexander Jr. about the dangers he faces as a Black man living in America.
She added: “I think in most Black homes it’s not just a conversation, it’s an ongoing conversation and it never stops.”
