Kumail Nanjiani shared an unvarnished update on his mental health on Sunday as he raged about the United States’ botched response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 42-year-old actor and comedian admitted on Twitter that he felt ‘hopeless and helpless’ in his eighth month of quarantining, as COVID-19 cases continued to surge across the US.
The Big Sick star has been more vigilant than many others, as his wife Emily V. Gordon is considered at high risk should she contract the coronavirus.
Down in the dumps: Kumail Nanjiani, 42, said he felt ‘hopeless & helpless’ and ‘let down’ by his country on Twitter Sunday as COVID-19 cases climbed in the US; shown in April 2019
Kumail wrote that he was ‘generally a very optimistic person,’ and he said he was doing his best to stay positive since the star of the pandemic.
‘But today is hard. We are heading into a massive Covid spike & the people who are supposed to protect us are doing nothing & blaming us for being concerned,’ he wrote.
‘We’ve been in quarantine for 8 months because my wife is in a high risk group,’ he continued, adding that they felt ‘let down by our country.’
‘But it’s not about us. We’re the lucky ones. Over 226,000 people have died. That’s so many families destroyed. People have lost their homes, their jobs.’
The Eternals star claimed that much of the death and destruction was ‘preventable’ and marveled at how well other countries have kept the virus in check.
Stuck at home: Kumail wrote that he and his wife Emily V. Gordon had been quarantining for ‘8 months’ in a lengthy Twitter thread, which was in response to the US’ botched COVID-19 response
Avoidable: He blamed both President Donald Trump and anti-mask advocates for making the pandemic far worse in the US than most other developed nations
‘Are they dealing with the same disease we are? I guess that’s the difference. They’re dealing with it. We’re not. We politicized every suppression effort,’ he continued.
‘Wearing masks is a sign of weakness. Protecting your friends, family, neighbors is a sign of weakness. Getting your heart broken every day by rising cases is a sign of weakness. Worrying that the next text will contain unthinkable news is a sign of weakness.
‘We could have done so much more to prevent all these losses. But it’s not his fault. It’s China’s fault,’ he said, referencing President Donald Trump and his repeated claims that China was at fault for the spread of the coronavirus.
‘I feel like I work Fealy [sic] hard to keep all these doors closed in my mind, to try and keep all these scary/sad/devastating thoughts out of my head,’ he wrote, though his strategy had temporarily failed.
‘I guess I have nothing constructive to say,’ he wrote with a defeated tone. ‘Just be careful out there. I’m afraid we have a couple of bad months ahead of us. And I feel hopeless & helpless today.’
Kumail ended his Twitter thread by encouraging his followers to list worthwhile charitable organizations that he and his wife could donate to.
Risky: Kumail and Emily have had to stay vigilant, as she’s considered high risk due to her previous Still’s disease diagnosis; shown in 2017
Real life: He and Emily wrote the 2017 film The Big Sick, about her bout with the illness and her time in a coma during the early days of their relationship; pictured with Zoe Kazan, who played Emily
The stand-up comic married Emily in 2007, and their dramatic courtship became the basis of their critically acclaimed 2017 dramedy The Big Sick.
The couple co-wrote the film about the early days of their relationship, when Emily fell seriously ill with what was later diagnosed as Still’s disease, a rare autoinflammatory disease.
In the film, her character (played by Zoe Kazan) is placed in a medically induced coma while doctors struggle to treat and diagnose her.
It’s not until Kumail remembers a detail about an earlier minor injury that they’re able to figure out what’s wrong with her and find an effective treatment.
The film was also a commercial success, grossing $56.4 million dollars against a $5 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo.
Emily is immunocompromised because of her disease, so she and her husband have been particularly vigilant about staying in as much as possible, social distancing and wearing masks whenever they’re near others.
Taking it to the bank: The film was also a commercial success, grossing $56.4 million dollars against a $5 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo; shown in 2015