2 Chainz and Katy Perry were among the musicians who took part in a private Zoom call with Dr. Anthony Fauci back in April to discuss the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Kim Kardashian was responsible for organising the virtual conversation, with the identities of the other participants unknown until Fauci – the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus task force – gave an interview to CNN about the chat.
As well as Katy, 2 Chainz and Kim, the call included other stars including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Orlando Bloom, Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk.
In total, there were 36 celebrities, musicians and athletes on with Fauci, for the call which lasted around an hour.
“It was a whole bunch of movie stars and some sports figures and they wanted to know about what they could do to stay safe, about wearing masks and avoiding crowds,” Fauci, 79, told CNN. “I was impressed by the questions they asked, by their level of sophistication.”
Reflecting on how the participating celebrities could use their profiles like “megaphones” to “get the word out about staying safe”, Fauci added: “I could say to them, for example, it’s important to wear a mask, and they get on their accounts and say ‘wear a mask’ and it goes out to an additional couple of million people.”