"RuPaul's Drag Race" star Gia Gunn is apologizing and promising to "do better" after downplaying the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday, the drag queen said on Instagram Live that the coronavirus was a "hoax" and alleged the government was blowing the pandemic out of proportion. "I think the whole mask thing is f–king ridiculous," she added.
The video prompted many "RuPaul's Drag Race" alums to eviscerate Gia online.
"Drag Race" Season 10 winner, Aquaria, tweeted, "please @GiaGunn put on your stupid mask and let it be a reminder to not open your mouth when trying to influence your followers to practice the same unsafe actions you feel entitled to. people are still dying. be grateful its not you or I right now."
Jaremi Carey, who starred on the fourth season of the reality series, told Gia, "Your video and comments are honestly quite ignorant and it would behoove you to step back from Twitter and educate yourself, false information is harmful to so many."
After backlash from her social media followers, Gia seemed to get the message.
"It's time for Miss Gia to take her own advice and do better. With the 6,000 cases on the rise alone here in California, it's apparent that no theories, no questions, no excuses, it's time for us to put our masks back on," she said. "And for those of you that never took their masks off, I thank you and I commend you so much for setting the example that I wish I would have."
She added, "Life is too short and we need to protect each other. And I thank you all so much for correcting me, educating me and informing me."
To date, more than 2.5 million Americans have contracted the coronavirus, resulting in nearly 130,000 deaths.