Coronavirus: Celebrities stand back and pass the mic to the experts
Julia Roberts, Hugh Jackman and Millie Bobby Brown will hand over their social media accounts to experts and frontline workers.
Wednesday 20 May 2020 05:06, UK
Some stars have attracted criticism during lockdown for making it all about themselves (you know who you are, Gal Gadot).
But now a whole host of celebrities are stepping away from social media, and all in name of a good cause.
Actors including Julia Roberts, Hugh Jackman and Millie Bobby Brown are all taking part in the #passthemic project, which aims to highlight the need for a global response to the coronavirus pandemic.
They will be handing over their social media accounts, along with their numerous followers, to experts and frontline workers from across the globe.
The initiative from the ONE Campaign, which fights to end extreme poverty and preventable disease around the world, will start later this week.
Experts include David Anderson (Nurse, Director of Quality at Nightingale Hospital, Manchester), Aya Chebbi (Youth Envoy, African Union) and Jen Kates (Global Health & HIV Policy).
Specialists will share their perspectives - grounded in data, science and facts - and talk about why a global response to this pandemic is so crucial if we want it to be eradicated.
Other stars who will be taking part include Penelope Cruz, Sarah Jessica Parker and James McEvoy.
Rita Wilson, who along with her husband Tom Hanks, recently recovered from coronavirus, will also be taking part.
The first celebrity to "pass the mic" will be Julia Roberts, who will speak with Dr Fauci on Thursday 21 of May.
The takeovers will last throughout the rest of May and into June.
:: Listen to the Backstage podcast on , , ,
ONE campaign president and CEO, Gayle Smith said: "Beating the virus means listening to the experts and following the science, data and facts to get ahead of it.
"This impressive group of talent and experts from around the world will put a spotlight on the need for a global response to this pandemic…
"Because none of us are safe until all of us are safe."