Kelly Dodd issued an apology on Instagram on Tuesday after saying the Covid-19 pandemic is "God's way of thinning the herd."
The "Real Housewives of Orange County" star's eyebrow-raising comments came after she got tested for the virus. She needed the test, she said, because she recently traveled by airplane — which angered many who are legitimately ill and unable to get tested.
After a fan questioned why she was flying amid the ongoing crisis, she replied, "If it's dangerous why are the airlines still flying?"
"Do you know how many people died from the H1N1, the swine flu or SARS?" she wrote in a different comment. "It's 25% get your facts straight you only hearing numbers not the reality! It's God's way of thinning the herd!"
She even said regardless of the pandemic, "That many [would have] died anyway!!"
After immense backlash, Kelly deleted the Instagram post and her comments, but writer Evan Ross Katz captured a screen grab.
On Tuesday, Kelly issued a public apology on her Instagram Story.
"I want to give a public apology. When I wrote this is God's way of thinning the herd, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, do these pandemic's happen because it's God's way? I'm not God. I'm not insensitive," she said. "I feel bad for all the families who have lost loved ones. And I do think we should all stay home and protect everybody. That's not what I meant, and I want to apologize to anyone who got offended. Ok, I'm sorry."
She then offered a similar second apology.
"So for anyone who got offended of my stupid writing of God thinning the herd, I'm just asking a question. Is it God's way of thinning the herd? I don't know. I just feel bad, and my choice of words were stupid, and I hope you guys can all forgive me for saying something so ridiculous and so stupid. So again, please accept my apology and I feel bad for everybody out there who's lost loved ones and I hope everyone is safe and protects themselves against this pandemic."