Celebrity

Kim Kardashian Organized A Coronavirus Zoom Call With Dr. Fauci & 35 Other Celebs

The physician and immunologist said he was "impressed by the questions they asked."

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When most people have questions about COVID-19 symptoms, they simply call their doctor and ask. Unless, of course, you're a Kardashian with access to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Nov. 8, Dr. Anthony Fauci confirmed that Kim Kardashian organized a private call about the coronavirus. Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and Gwyneth Paltrow were just some of the stars that participated in the virtual Zoom meeting.

Fauci told the outlet that the private meeting took place in April when most of the U.S. was still under stay-at-home orders. Kardashian's rep confirmed to People that the reality star organized the call with a total of 36 celebrities and athletes. Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, 2 Chainz, and Brad Falchuk were also on the call. "It was a whole bunch of movie stars and some sports figures and they wanted to know about what they could do to stay safe, about wearing masks and avoiding crowds," Fauci said. "I was impressed by the questions they asked, by their level of sophistication."

The doctor, who is also a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said he was motivated to take the meeting because of these stars' massive online platforms, which could help more people learn COVID-19 safety guidelines. "Each of them has enormous numbers of followers on their social media accounts," he said. "I could say to them, for example, it's important to wear a mask, and they get on their accounts and say 'wear a mask' and it goes out to an additional couple of million people."

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This is not the first time that medical experts have sought the assistance of celebrities to spread accurate information. Back in March, Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams begged influencers — including Kardashian's sister Kylie Jenner — to get their young followers to start taking coronavirus prevention seriously. "We need to get Kylie Jenner, and our social media influencers out there helping folks understand that this is serious, this is absolutely serious, people are dying," he said on Good Morning America. "Think about your grandmother, think about your grandfather."

According to Fauci, the stars on the call asked a wide range of questions about the best COVID-19 safety precautions, including one from Kunis about the safety of takeout food. Fauci said that he tried to eat several takeout meals a week to support local businesses, and advised her to "wash her hands" instead of worrying about how to consume the food. "Fauci, who's such a wonderful guy, said, 'Mila, listen, don't be paranoid!'" one source familiar with the call told CNN. "And then her husband, Ashton Kutcher, said 'That's it — I'm ordering a pizza — finally!' And then he took out his cell phone and pretended to order a pizza." See? Celebrities really are just like us.