Internet Culture

Kylie Jenner gets trolled for warning followers coronavirus is ‘a real thing’

Though many people were making fun of Jenner, just as many defended her.

Photo of Esther Bell

Esther Bell

kylie jenner

Kylie Jenner has been sharing her quarantine looks with her followers this week, but interrupted her normal fashion-filled feed with a serious message for her followers about the coronavirus.

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Jenner posted on her story Thursday saying “happy self-quarantine,” and told followers she was on her ninth day of quarantine.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

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Though Jenner has been posting daily reminders about how important social distancing is to stay healthy, she said she was inspired by Surgeon General Jerome Adams to post a more in-depth story about why self-quarantining is necessary.

“I listened to the Surgeon General this morning and […] he definitely encouraged me to come on here and talk to you guys,” Jenner said.

“Please stay inside, practice social distancing, self-quarantine,” Jenner said. “If you live with your parents, you don’t want to go home and get your parents sick. You might have it and not even know and be infecting other people. It’s serious and the only way we’re going to slow this down is if we do this since there’s not a cure right now.”

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Knowing most of her followers are Gen Z and millennials, Jenner focused her message toward young people.

“Nobody’s immune to this, millennials are not immune to this. New evidence actually shows a large percentage of people in the hospital right now are young adults,” Jenner said, likely referring to a new report that said up to 20% of people hospitalized from the coronavirus are ages 20 to 44.

Despite Jenner’s good intentions, she still got trolled on Twitter. Particularly for saying “the coronavirus is a real thing.”

https://twitter.com/yousefslym/status/1240780691362570240
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https://twitter.com/abeerbass/status/1241003904684482560

Though many people were making fun of Jenner, just as many defended her. Many respected Jenner for using her platform to connect with young people who are notoriously partying and brunching instead of self-quarantining.

https://twitter.com/arhuml92/status/1240950184814747649
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https://twitter.com/lauralaxla/status/1241022883285082114

Some feel that influencers should be donating money or supplies if they really want to make a difference. Jenner’s video brought out many people’s frustrations with celebrities talking about how easy it is to stay home.

https://twitter.com/snugdeal3r/status/1240897235140804608
https://twitter.com/yyxyjooheons/status/1241090268993994752
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But like Surgeon General Adams said, celebrities can use their platforms to influence younger followers and get young adults to recognize the seriousness of the coronavirus.

Jenner ended her video with love and positivity.

“I love you guys, we’re going to get through this together,” Jenner said. “We just have to listen to each other, respect each other, self-quarantine, and I encourage other influencers to also speak out and encourage followers to also self-quarantine.”

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Jenner also pointed out that when she was pregnant with daughter Stormi she didn’t leave the house, and shared with her followers how she kept busy.

“I never let myself get bored,” Jenner said. “I watched movies, I read books, I would do full spa days and take long baths, do masks, take care of my skin, take care of my hair. Puzzles. I did so many puzzles when I was pregnant […] Being at home is fun, we can have fun at home.”

Jenner told fans to tweet her with what they’ve been doing to stay busy while quarantined, and reminded them “we can get through this together.”

 
The Daily Dot