Over the last few weeks, social media users from around the world have weighed on the dispute about daily showers. The online conversation was recently sparked when Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis revealed the couple does not feel the need to fully bathe every day.
“I wash my armpits and my crotch daily, and nothing else, ever,” admitted Ashton Kutcher on a July episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, before saying, “I got a bar of Lever 2000 that delivers every time. Textbook soap. Nothing else.”
Kutcher’s wife, Mila Kunis, also stated, “I didn’t have hot water growing up as a child, so I didn’t shower very much anyway. But when I had children, I also didn’t wash them every day. I wasn’t the parent that bathed my newborns – ever.”
Kutcher later added, “Now, here’s the thing: If you can see the dirt on [the four-year-old and six-year-old children], clean them. Otherwise, there’s no point.” Those hygiene-related comments from the That ’70s Show alumni led to other celebrities voicing their thoughts on the topic.
For example, Hip Hop megastar Cardi B took to Twitter on Tuesday afternoon to share her thoughts about bathing. The Grammy-winning recording artists posted, “Wassup with people saying they don’t shower? 🤨 It’s giving itchy.” Cardi’s tweet collected more than 60,000 likes.
Wassup with people saying they don’t shower ? 🤨 It’s giving itchy.
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) August 10, 2021
Other A-listers have also come out to talk about their bathing routines. Brokeback Mountain actor Jake Gyllenhaal told Vanity Fair he finds bathing to be “less necessary, at times” as he promoted Prada’s new Luna Rossa Ocean masculine fragrance.
International movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson publicly declared that he is “the opposite of a ‘not washing themselves’ celeb.” In addition, The New York Times opinion writer Roxane Gay blasted people like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis who downplay the need to wash with soap and water often.
Nope, I’m the opposite of a “not washing themselves” celeb.
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 7, 2021
Shower (cold) when I roll outta bed to get my day rollin’.
Shower (warm) after my workout before work.
Shower (hot) after I get home from work.
Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower 🧼 🎶 https://t.co/iE6ZPhrthL
“I am genuinely shocked by how rarely (some) white people bathe themselves and their children. And how comfortable they are discussing it. During a pandemic,” tweeted Roxane Gay on August 5.
The Bad Feminist: Essays author also tweeted, “Lots of groups of people can’t afford to do all these weird once a week, birdbath things you are all opining about. Black people, poor people, immigrants, fat people have all been labeled as ‘dirty’ by society and I assure you, we can’t just skip around unwashed. But do you!”