Actor and comedian Larry the Cable Guy criticized Hollywood celebrities on Twitter for posting about the coronavirus crisis while not giving attention to the homeless epidemic ravaging their own backyards in California.
“Here’s a message from people with a lot of possessions that can take a year off of work and not flinch telling everyone outa work to imagine a world with no possessions while people are living in the street a half mile away from ‘em,” Larry the Cable Guy, whose real name is Daniel Whitney, tweeted Thursday, along with a video of Hollywood celebrities singing John Lennon’s hit “Imagine” to encourage solidarity during the pandemic.
Here’s a message from people with a lot of possessions that can take a year off of work and not flinch telling everyone outa work to imagine a world with no possessions while people are living in the street a half mile away from ‘em. RT @MattWalshBlog:
— Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) March 19, 2020
One Twitter user wrote that it “pisses me off” and added that “most of us” are living paycheck to paycheck with no savings.
Whitney responded to that comment with, “They’re clueless.”
They’re clueless.
— Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) March 19, 2020
Later, the actor clarified that he harbors no ill will toward any of the celebrities in the video but believes it was in “bad taste.”
“Marx would be proud of that song,” he said. “And I’m not imagining no heaven. Jesus gives hope. Government can’t give people a heart change or hope.”
There are over 22,000 documented cases of the coronavirus in the United States to go along with 282 deaths.
At least 151,000 people live in the streets in California, according to government figures, and the state’s homeless population increased by 16.4% from 2018 to 2019. It estimated that 53% of all homeless people in the U.S. live in California.
State officials have warned that the homeless population in California is particularly vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus and estimated that 60,000 homeless people will fall ill.
