Dennis Quaid fires back at claims he was paid to be in a pro-Trump COVID campaign: 'No good deed goes unpoliticized'
Dennis Quaid is over “cancel culture.”
The 66-year-old actor said he only meant to promote safety amid the coronavirus pandemic when he interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, several weeks ago. But when a recent Politico article insinuated Quaid’s involvement was meant to be part of a campaign to re-elect President Donald Trump, Quaid said he couldn’t avoid speaking out.
“NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPOLITICIZED,” Quaid captioned a video he posted on his Instagram account on Saturday. “I have to say right now I am feeling some outrage and a lot of disappointment about a PSA and interview that I did with Dr. Anthony Fauci a few weeks ago. It is being used by the cancel culture media that I was doing a campaign ad and endorsement of Donald Trump and that I was paid handsomely for this by diverted CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] funds. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“I did a PSA for Dr. Anthony Fauci, and he was kind of enough to grant me an interview as well. And the interview and PSA were about raising awareness of COVID-19 and what we can still do to prevent lives being lost by this terrible, terrible virus. It was about the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing. It was in no way political, and in fact, Dr. Fauci and I talked about it beforehand that it was not to be political,” said Quaid. “This virus is not political.”
The Politico report claimed the Department of Health and Human Services was seeking to create a campaign that would encourage people to remain optimistic amid the pandemic, while also addressing the federal government’s handling of COVID-19 in encouraging safety protocols. It claimed that along with Quaid, gospel singer CeCe Winans, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Garth Brooks were all approached to appear in the campaign.
Back in April, Quaid praised President Trump’s response to the pandemic, telling The Daily Beast “I think the president is handling it in a good way. We see him on television every day, he’s involved, and the travel ban early on was a great idea.”
While Quaid did not disclose whether his interview with Fauci will be used in promotion of the Trump administration, he did assert that he was in no way compensated for his time.
“I was not paid one penny for doing this interview, and neither was Dr. Anthony Fauci,” said Quaid. “I am really disappointed that some people who call themselves legitimate reporters don’t do their homework.”
Quaid went on to explain that his entire conversation with Fauci is available on his podcast, The Denissance, and said that those claiming he was compensated for his time “obviously did not listen to the interview.”
“Anyway, thank you for your time, everybody out there stay safe and wear a mask,” Quaid concluded. “God bless.”
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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