Idris Elba has described Cardi B’s suggestion celebrities are being paid to say they tested positive for coronavirus as “stupid”.
Elba, alongside his wife Sabrina and actors Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Olga Kurylenko, is one of the most high-profile stars to publicly say they have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Grammy Award-winning rapper Cardi B said in an Instagram Live broadcast that celebrities who say they have the illness sound like they are in a “Flat Tummy Tea commercial,” referring to detox products influencers are paid to promote online.
Elba has now responded during a live stream of his own. “I think the negativity around ‘test shaming’ is counterproductive,” the Luther star said. “I don’t see what people get out of that.