‘I shouldn’t have to make it fun!’: Paul Rudd warns millennials to ‘wear masks’ in coronavirus advice film

The film was produced by the New York governor Andrew Cuomo 

Sophie Gallagher
Tuesday 15 September 2020 17:23 BST
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(Twitter/AndrewCuomo)

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Actor Paul Rudd has appeared in a short film telling millennials and other young people to wear face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus.

The 51-year-old Friends star, who is dressed in a yellow hoodie, cap and carrying a skateboard in the video, introduces himself as a “actor and certified young person”.

Rudd explains that New York governor Andrew Cuomo asked him to deliver the public health message: “He said ‘Paul, you gotta help. What are you like 26?’ And I didn’t correct him.

“He’s just going off about how us millennials need to wear masks because, get this, apparently a lot of Covid is transmitted by us millennials.”

The actor, who is originally from New Jersey, continued: “Masks they’re totally beast. So slide that into your DMs and Twitch it.”

Then the tone of the advert changes and Rudd says, in a serious tone: “Just wear a mask - I shouldn’t have to make it fun! It’s science! It’s science!” 

Rudd is not the only celebrity to have spoken out about wearing masks. Jennifer Aniston posted a message to fans on Instagram on 20 July. 

Aniston shared an image of her friend Kevin who had contracted the virus: “This is our friend Kevin. Perfectly healthy, not one underlying health issue. This is Covid. This is real.

“We can't be so naive to think we can outrun this... if we want this to end, and we do, right? The one step we can take is PLEASE #wearadamnmask.”

The US is the country that has been worst hit by coronavirus around the world, with more than 6.5 million cases and over 194,071 deaths.

This week fines were introduced for New York city commuters who do not wear masks on subways, trains and buses.

Fines for non-mask wearing have been in place in England since 15 June, when masks were made mandatory on public transport.

They are now also required in shops, cinemas, supermarkets, takeaways, coffee shops, and other places where you might come into contact with people you don’t normally, while in an indoor setting.

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