A Princess Cruises employee has been filmed in a parody music video mocking the coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least eight cruise ship passengers in Australia.
Rhys William Clayton is a dancer and entertainer for Princess Cruises, which owns the COVID-19-stricken Ruby Princess ship that is anchored off the coast of NSW.
In a two and half minute music video shared on social media on Tuesday, the employee is seen making light of the health crisis in a bid to pass the time on board the Emerald Princess.
The clip, titled ‘I Will Survive (COVID-19 edition)’, is shot throughout the deck, cabins, swimming pool and dining area of the empty ship while he sings to the melody of the hit Gloria Gaynor song.
‘At first I was afraid, I’d be quarantined. Never expected to be sitting here on Deck 16’, the song begins, showing Clayton in bed dressed in protective equipment.
In one lyric, he pokes at fun at those stuck in isolation singing, ‘Do you think I’m bothered, you should have care more for yourself.
Rhys William Clayton, a dancer and entertainer for Princess Cruises, was filmed in a parody music video about the coronavirus outbreak
The cruise ship employee is seen making light of the crisis in a bid to pass the time on board
He sings to the melody of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, saying he is ‘living the dream’
‘Oh no, not I. Living the dream.
‘I’m still on here with food and beer and I’ve got pizza and ice cream.’
The video has been viewed more than 15,000 times and has received over 130 responses, many praising Clayton for providing comic relief amid the pandemic.
Clayton’s video has been viewed more than 15,000 times
Some viewers however, criticised the song due to the nature of the lyrics.
‘Now stuck at home like every other fool?? This is so disrespectful!’ one woman commented.
Another woman took issue with the man appearing to having a great time while others are stuck in quarantine.
‘This is giving the world the wrong impression. Were you not turned away from getting vital supplies? You do not have all the food and drinks you are showing here. If you want help from other countries, they need to know you are not having the time of your life’, she said.
In a response, Clayton said the video was intended to make people laugh and smile during a hard time.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the employee and Princess Cruises for comment.
The video has been viewed more than 15,000 times and has received over 130 responses, many praising him for providing comic relief amid the pandemic
Some viewers took issue with the man appearing to have a great time on board while others are stuck in quarantine
In one lyric, he pokes fun at those in self isolation while he’s ‘chilling here’ on deck of the ship
Clayton, along with other Princess Cruise crew members, has been stuck on board the Emerald Princess, which is now anchored in Freeport, Bahamas.
The vessel was forced to cut its voyage short last month after the cruise liner announced it was suspending global operations of its 18 cruise ships for 60 days due to the coronavirus crisis.
The move came after multiple cruise ships from the cruise liner’s fleet began to report outbreaks among passengers and crew.
A number of Princess cruise ships are now anchored at various locations around the world with their crew onboard as they await permission to dock.
Cruise ships have been a large source of coronavirus infections around the world, including Australia, where at least five passengers who contracted the disease on board a vessel have died.
The national death toll climbed to 26 on Friday, with nine deaths among people who had been on cruises.
In NSW, an investigation is underway over the Ruby Princess fiasco, in which infected passengers were allowed ti disembark in Sydney before their test results were known.
Six passengers have since died after contracting the illness on the ship.
Staff from Aspen Medical and NSW Health boarded the Ruby Princess cruise ship on Thursday afternoon to test and treat sick crew members.
Mr Fuller says police are now waiting to hear how many of the 1,100 crew on-board need to be evacuated into NSW hospitals.
‘If there is a couple of hundred people infected and they can’t handle anymore then we will have to deal with that,’ he told reporters on Friday.
Authorities are concerned infected crew could overwhelm NSW hospitals if even a small proportion contract the virus.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in NSW has reached 2389, with 91 new cases in the past 24 hours.
The Ruby Princess has become a major source of COVID-19 spread in Australia, with six passengers dying since the cruise ship docked in Sydney on March 19 (pictured)
The state’s coronavirus death toll is 10 and the national death toll is 25.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian says Mr Fuller will lead an investigation into the Ruby Princess fiasco.
‘I’ll let the police commissioner get to the bottom of it. I don’t think it helps anybody to point fingers and play the blame game,’ she told reporters on Friday.
‘Let him do his investigations and let him tell us who is responsible.’
Mr Fuller has in recent days urged cruise ships floating off the coast of NSW to go home rather than risk flooding the state with new infections.
Two Carnival ships are currently on their way out of NSW and five Royal Caribbean ships will refuel in Sydney before leaving on Sunday.
The Ruby Princess will remain off Sydney for the time being while crew are assessed by doctors.
More than 450 cases of coronavirus in NSW have been linked to cruise ships, including 337 from the Ruby Princess.