OPINION | Most Mzansi celebs have done well to educate people during #Covid19 times

When a pandemic strikes, like all bad things in life, it often reveals the true colours of people. 

For a generation of celebrities who have often been dubbed as shallow and selfish, South African celebrities have stepped up unbelievably to use their influence not only to drive conversations about what the government needs to do, but also what everyone's part in fighting the virus is. 

From encouraging their millions of fans to wash their hands, to speaking out against displays of wealth or privilege, SA celebs have called each other, politicians and government out without fear or favour.

There are a lot of times where SA's celebrities leave their fans disappointed, when they display how self-centred they can be or sometimes just how “dumb”, “rude”, “entitled” they are, but since the coronavirus outbreak, I have been proud of how careful they have chosen to be on their social media accounts as far as spreading panic and fear is concerned. 

Which is a welcome change from them using their usual, “It's not my fault I'm your child's role model” excuse, which they often use to get away with tweeting and sharing questionable things on their platforms.

But that truly hasn't been the case this time and it has been refreshing. 

Especially bearing in mind how the entertainment industry is one of the most affected by the virus. Not only have many gigs been cancelled because the declared State of Disaster means that freedom of movement is limited, but the royalties from their existing work, which should be their cushion in these hard times, do not always come through hassle-free or on time.

The celebs are going through a lot.

However, they haven't only focused on their problems, choosing to also use their influence to highlight what the people around them are going through.

From asking the government to act swiftly, to questioning some of the measures like putting a steep price tag on testing for the virus and everything in between, celebs have become a mouthpiece for their fans on social media.

They've also opted to share their experiences during this time as purely as they could. This has given their fans an opportunity to share in their journey as they try to navigate self-imposed quarantine, having their children home 24/7 and even running out of toilet paper when the #panicshoppers have cleaned out all the nearby stores.

Everybody knows that social media isn't always the friendliest of places but for South Africans, we've been able to laugh and also be vulnerable together.

For most fans, they've been able to do this through memes, gifs and honest conversations with the people they look up to and celebrate, which has also served as a silver lining for many in what is a very scary and dark time.

This is not to say there are no visible inequalities the virus has exposed. Nor is it to say there are no celebrities with hugely disappointing mentalities among us, because there are.

But for all the times we are left wondering what drugs our faves are on, or the often unnecessary Twitter wars, or all those “why would you even say such a thing?” moments, we can now add this compassionate and kind side to our favourite celebrities.