Throughout the pandemic, Americans listened closely to what Dr. Anthony Fauci had to saw about the status of COVID-19 and how we should go about protecting ourselves. We saw him on our TV screens on a regular basis, and we read articles about his advice. He became very, very popular. Some might even call him an overnight celebrity.
Dr. Fauci never wanted to be a celebrity, and the idea that he was thought of as a celebrity was pretty confusing to him. He was just doing his job. In fact, he was working overtime to do his job well and to respond to emails.
Speaking of emails, over 800 pages of Dr. Fauci’s emails have been released. These emails were from the early days of the pandemic when we still had a lot to learn about COVID-19. Many of the emails were about very serious matters, as you would expect. However, in other emails, he expressed how uncomfortable he was about being considered a celebrity.
In one email to a colleague, Dr. Fauci reacted to an article that was published by the Washington Post. The article was all about how people were putting Dr. Fauci’s face and/or name on everything from doughnuts to t-shirts. Dr. Fauci told his colleague, “Truly surrealistic. Hopefully, this all stops soon.”
Some people went beyond just being a fan of Dr. Fauci. Some people actually developed a celebrity crush on him. In another email, Dr. Fauci’s response to his new status as a sex symbol was, “Our society is really totally nuts.”
Other emails reveal that he corresponded with Disney about a documentary about him. He also was in correspondence with a representative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In one email, the representative expressed concern about Dr. Fauci’s health. George Gao, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also emailed Dr. Fauci asking about his wellbeing. Dr. Fauci responded to Gao, “Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world.”
How would you react if you were suddenly considered a celebrity? Does it surprise that Dr. Fauci was uncomfortable with this celebrity status and hoped it would end?