In a tweet to the Governor of California on Monday, April 20, Gunvalson said, “@GavinNewsom Let’s get America who is healthy back to work. We need hairdressers, nail techs, small businesses, and restaurants to start reopening May 1st. Please?”
Followers slammed her on the social media platform, many calling her “tone deaf” for requesting that non-essential workers put themselves at risk to give clients a manicure or haircut. Nevertheless, Gunvalson continued to defend her statement and even responded to some of the tweets.
One user tweeted, “Vicki wants to ‘WHOOP IT UP’ while people are dying. Nice.”
To which Gunvalson responded, “Nope, reread this again. I said nothing about whooping it up. I said we need to get back to work. Been in quarantine for 2 months as I’m sure you have.”
“It hasn’t been two months,” said a concerned Twitter user. “We also don’t know who is sick or healthy because testing isn’t widely available.”
In response to her original tweet, one person commented, “Vicki, no 🤦🏽♂️.” She responded and said, “Never? You think we should stay closed forever?”
After getting slammed on social media, Gunvalson clarified what she meant to say. "I want to explain what I meant when I tweeted to the Governor, ‘Let’s get America who is healthy back to work. We need hairdressers, nail techs, small businesses, and restaurants to start reopening May 1st. Please.’"
"I see that I’m getting attacked for it," Vicki told The Hollywood Gossip, "and I don’t think people understand where I’m coming from whatsoever. I am in the insurance business. I work day and night in a business I built from the ground up to protect people’s assets."
"People who work at (and own) restaurants, people who do hair, nails, etc., and small business owners, as well, cannot work from home," Vicki explains. "They are losing their shirts financially every single day and the risk factor is huge. I am not undermining the importance of taking precautions in relation to coronavirus whatsoever. We are living in very scary times and obviously the virus is a legitimate concern."
"People are dying and it’s horribly sad to see, especially with it running the gamut from young to old," she continued. "My thoughts and prayers are with all who have lost loved ones. With that being said, though - and in no way am I taking away from the grief these people are dealing with - we are setting ourselves up for a lot of risk going forward if we don’t start to reopen things," Vicki predicts. "I’m not encouraging a salon to open and six chairs to be next to each other and people all on top of each other. Rather, if a hair salon (for example) could open, wear appropriate protective equipment (such as masks and gloves they change after each client) and ensure clients are socially distanced from one another, the benefit to the business surviving is massive."
"Also, if low numbers are present at a time and social distancing measures are taken into account, it would likely be low risk," Vicki suggests. "Continuing to prolong the time that these businesses are closed is going to do one thing in the long run," Vicki predicts, saying that this crisis will "put the majority of them out of business and put more strain on our already tapped out unemployment system."
"We will go from one of the world’s best countries," Vicki told The Hollywood Gossip, "to a country that is suffering from a massive depression that will likely see increases in crime, unemployment, debt, home foreclosures, poverty, and starving people, just to name a few things. As an insurance person," she reasons, "I have to weigh risks and benefits all day and the risk is so grave here."
"That’s all I meant by my tweet," Vicki shares. "I do apologize to anyone I offended, as that is never my intention and I have always looked out for everyone’s best interests."
"But, please, I ask you consider what I meant rather than continuing to attack me," Vicki says. Then Vicki shades Kelly Dodd while continuing to clarify her controversial comments.
"It’s not like I claimed that the deaths that happened would have happened anyway and this is God’s way of herding out people like Kelly Dodd did." She concludes, "I appreciate your continued support of me and know, from the bottom of my heart, I am looking out for all of you."
Given the constantly evolving nature of COVID-19, we want our readers (courtesy via Us Weekly) to have access to the most accurate resources. For the most up-to-date coronavirus information, guidance, and support, consult the CDC, WHO, and information from local public health officials. If you’re experiencing coronavirus symptoms, call your primary care provider for medical advice.
Given the constantly evolving nature of COVID-19, we want our readers (courtesy via Us Weekly) to have access to the most accurate resources. For the most up-to-date coronavirus information, guidance, and support, consult the CDC, WHO, and information from local public health officials. If you’re experiencing coronavirus symptoms, call your primary care provider for medical advice.
Photo Credit: Bravo
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