'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' star Lana Condor called out Donald Trump for putting the 'Asian American' community in 'danger.' The POTUS repeatedly refers to COVID-19 by a nationality.
Lana Condor, 22, who is of Vietnamese descent, shared a heartfelt PSA about why it’s NOT okay to refer to the new coronavirus as the “Chinese Virus.” That’s exactly what Donald Trump, 73, has been referring to COVID-19 as many Asian Americans have come forward with horrific stories of public harassment and xenophobia after the new coronavirus made its way from China’s province of Wuhan to the U.S. “To wake up to your chaos is truly a nightmare. Please be better,” the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star tweeted on March 18, seemingly referring to Trump (she didn’t include his handle). Redirecting her attention to fans, Lana added, “To my followers- be safe. I love you.”
Lana proceeded to explain why Trump’s label for the coronavirus is not only hurtful, but potentially harmful. The Netflix star attached a note under her tweet, which read, “You have no idea the ramifications your racist words & actions have on the Asian American community. You simply cannot even fathom the danger you are putting our community in. How dare you. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
Lana isn’t the only celebrity to accuse Trump of “racist” actions amid the coronavirus outbreak. Chinese American actress Katie Leung, 32, known for playing Cho Chang in the Harry Potter film series, also slammed the POTUS for writing “Chinese Virus” in tweets. “Kiss my chinese a– you absolute racist gobshite,” Katie wrote in the March 17 tweet.
💔 Be better. To wake up to your chaos is truly a nightmare. Please. Be better. 💔 To my followers- be safe. I love you.
— Lana Condor (@lanacondor) March 18, 2020
Many other Twitter users shared Lana and Katie’s anger after Trump adopted the term “Chinese Virus” while calling out New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “Cuomo wants ‘all states to be treated the same.’ But all states aren’t the same. Some are being hit hard by the Chinese Virus, some are being hit practically not at all. New York is a very big ‘hotspot’, West Virginia has, thus far, zero cases. Andrew, keep politics out of it,” Trump tweeted on March 17.
I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the “borders” from China – against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2020
Seemingly ignoring the public outcry, Trump proceeded to use the tasteless nickname again. “I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the ‘borders’ from China – against the wishes of almost all,” Trump tweeted early Wednesday morning, March 18. He added, “Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!”
