One day after Idris Elba said he tested positive for the coronavirus, he encouraged people not to spread false theories, like Black people can’t get it.
“Please stop sending the conspiracy theory nonsense about black people not being able to get coronavirus or COVID-19,” said Elba in a live Twitter video on Tuesday. “It’s dumb, it’s silly, it’s very dangerous. … If you’re sending that stuff out or manifesting it, it’s not the time. People need to know facts, they need to know the truth so they can protect themselves.”
Elba was then asked why he chose to get a test after he admitted to not having any symptoms at first, and he said it was because he was told there was someone around him who recently tested positive for the virus.
A lot of reports have named that person as Sophie Trudeau, who’s the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She posed for a photo with Elba and a group of others on March 4 at the SSE Arena in Wembley, London, during a charity event in the U.K. capital.
“We were really lucky to test very quickly because of the shortages of the test,” said Elba in the Twitter video. “But from my perspective, the best thing to do immediately was to get tested because I was going to be around a lot of people starting this new film.”
Elba said he only has a runny nose at this time and feels fine. But he’s still really concerned about having the virus because he has asthma.
“I’m worried about having the virus. I’m worried about having asthma and how that can make things really complicated for me very quickly,” he admitted. “I’m really worried about what’s going in the world, I’m really worried about how we’re dealing with it.”
Plus, he brought up his wife Sabrina Dhowre and said she has also gotten tested, and they’re awaiting the results.
Elba talked about the criticism his wife received as well, because she was next to him when he revealed the positive test result.
“She woke up this morning a little bit sad, as I did,” he explained. “She feels OK. Yesterday was a lot for us. My wife isn’t used to being in the public eye like I am, and yesterday we were like the biggest story in the world.”
“So today she wanted to step back a little bit,” added Elba. “It was weird, because people were criticizing her for being next to me, and that was bananas. That took a little bit of a mental strain on both of us. We didn’t expect that, but fair dues.”
Elba revealed in a video that he posted to social media on Monday, March 16, that he has tested positive for the coronavirus.