Tone-deaf or tuned-in? Coronavirus proves a minefield for celebrities

The coronavirus epidemic is bringing fans up close and personal with celebrities in an unprecedented way, but not everyone is liking what they see.

This report produced by Yahaira Jacquez.

It was supposed to be an attempt to cheer up the masses.

Gal Gadot and her celebrity friends singing 'Imagine' by John Lennon.

But it flopped, branded as out of touch by many on social media.

And she isn't alone.

Madonna faced backlash for calling the coronavirus outbreak 'the great equalizer' in a now deleted video.

As the pandemic sweeps the world, it's bringing fans up close and personal with celebrities in an unprecedented way.

(UPSOUND) (English) ACTOR, MATT DAMON, SAYING: "In the movie I played a guy who was immune to the hypothetical virus, that was spreading around the world." But one problem - according to entertainment reporter Scott Huver is that celebrities have been left to their own devices and people are not always liking what they see.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER, SCOTT HUVER, SAYING: "So for a while, what we've been seeing is celebrities really enjoying the fact they can take their messages and their thoughts directly to their fans through social media and bypass the traditional media outlets and that's been something everyone's been enjoying but in this moment of crisis that we're experiencing, what's happening is that they're not always phrasing or delivering their messages exactly the way that reflects well on them.

They're not being able to use the traditional media to massage the way that they say things or turn to their handlers, their publicists, their agents, their managers, to make sure their messaging isn't perceived a little tone deaf or offensive." And it appears that in a world where millions have filed for unemployment or are risking their health working in hospitals and grocery stores - messages that 'We are in this together' - have landed with a thud.

But not everyone is getting flack.

Taylor Swift and fellow pop star Ariana Grande have quietly handed out thousands of dollars to fans facing dire situations.

While Rihanna and Jay-Z donated $2 million to help undocumented workers, the children of health workers and the homeless.

And Americans found perhaps their most unlikely coronavirus celebrity cheerleader in pop star Britney Spears, who last week re-posted a message calling for the redistribution of wealth and for workers to support each other.