Kumail Nanjiani had some sad feelings to share on Twitter about the still-surging coronavirus pandemic on Sunday ― and he let them rip in a fit of despair that is all too relatable.
“I’m sorry,” he began. “I’m generally a very optimistic person and have fought to keep positive these last few months. But today is hard.
“We are heading into a massive Covid spike and the people who are supposed to protect us are doing nothing & blaming us for being concerned.”
Kumail’s wife, Emily V. Gordon, is immunocompromised, which he said was spiking his anxiety even further. (Her life-threatening bout with Still’s disease inspired their Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 2017 dramedy The Big Sick).
“We feel let down by our country,” he wrote as he mentioned the hundreds of thousands dead and “families destroyed”.
Kumail eyed the fewer deaths in other countries, adding: “Are they dealing with the same disease we are? I guess that’s the difference. They’re dealing with it. We’re not. We politicised every suppression effort.”
The actor and comedian – whose activism extends to social media at times – went on at length about the authorities’ framing of pandemic containment efforts, such as masks and a reliance on science, as a sign of “weakness.” He wrote that worrying about his wife is even considered a sign of weakness.
“I guess I have nothing constructive to say,” Kumail wrote. “Just be careful out there. I’m afraid we have a couple of bad months ahead of us. And I feel hopeless & helpless today.”