Jacqueline Fernandez admits ‘privilege’ amid Covid-19 pandemic, objects to criticism of celebs: ‘Not the time for that’

Actor Jacqueline Fernandez, who recently launched her foundation You Only Live Once (YOLO) to help the needy, admitted to being in a position of ‘privilege’ as India battles the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, she said that this is not a time to criticise celebrities for their contribution.

“I want to be there as much as I can for people and not think about myself. Because I know I do come from a space that’s complete privilege right now. I have a roof over my head and I have food to eat. There are people out there struggling to survive because of the pandemic,” she told Times Now.

Jacqueline, who has been using her reach as a celebrity to amplify distress calls and share information about Covid-19 resources, said that she thinks of it as her ‘duty’. She objected to celebrities being criticised at a time like this. She urged everyone to come together and help alleviate the situation. “If it’s in your capacity to help, please help, and if maybe, it’s not in your capacity or you don’t have the means, at least don’t spread hate, don’t spread negativity,” she said. “It’s not the time or the place for that.”

“Don’t add just negativity. It's really uncalled for... There are actually people out there who are doing what they can and probably not talking about it. You don’t know what someone’s going through or what someone’s doing, so please don’t make yourself a judge of that. Even if it means keeping your negative opinions to yourself, please do that,” she added.

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Jacqueline’s foundation You Only Live Once (YOLO) has paired up with a number of NGOs. She also made a contribution to the Pune Police Foundation.

Jacqueline was most recently seen alongside Salman Khan in a special song in Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai. She has a number of films in the pipeline, including Attack, Bhoot Police, Cirkus, Bachchan Pandey and Ram Setu.