COVID-19’s most Canadian celebrity clickbait

When showbiz gets stuck at home

Idris Elba @idriselba

This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panZglZ

Idris Elba’s video on Twitter about testing positive for COVID-19, delivered alongside his wife, Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre, brought on curiosity about who it was the actor realized he was exposed to. It turned out Elba attended a WE Day event in London, England, alongside Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, who was similarly diagnosed back at home.

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The industries now set on fire

Stars @youarestars

torq wrote something for the atlantic and we hope you check it out. the singer needs you. xo

theatlantic.comA Catastrophe for the Night EconomySince the coronavirus shut down the way we make a living, musicians like me—and service workers of all sorts—are going to need some help.

Torquil Campbell, from the Montreal-based band Stars, is at the forefront of artists contemplating how the coronavirus will impact the creative class—and those whose livelihoods depend on it. Virtual shows will be the norm for now: Vancouver musician Dan Mangan filmed a Show to Nobody to make up for a cancelled concert in Toronto.

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Global News had two employees test positive for COVID-19. The network reported on the illness in its own ranks, but didn’t name names. (Global host Jeff McArthur is in post-vacation self-isolation.) Meanwhile, after interviewing quarantined Justin Trudeau from a CTV studio, Evan Solomon retreated to his own basement.

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TV’s shattered quarantines

Big Brother’s globally franchised formula is being tested by COVID-19: contestants in Germany are belatedly set to get the pandemic revealed to them. It was clarified by Big Brother Canada producers that its housebound players know about the coronavirus, but this appears to have happened after they wondered where the live audiences for their evictions went:

C.J. Prince @cj_prin

In Canada, a new season of Big Brother started 2 weeks ago. The contestants have no clue about the severity of the Coronavirus pandemic. When someone is voted out of the show, they come out to a studio with no audience. Contestants talk about it then production shuts them down.

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Cineplex’s temporary closure comes with a topping of uncertainty. The movie theatre chain was countering calls to shut down over the weekend by reducing capacity. And then the week began with an activist investor calling for the Canadian government to block its acquisition by Cineworld, based on the increasingly fragile economics of Cineplex.

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Finally, life goes on with Lego

Joel Cadieux, the Red Deer dad who got his four kids to help build 100 Lego dioramas about the life of infamous Toronto Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard—and then shared the results on social media—is unveiling his new project about another hockey mogul:

Joel Cadieux @JoelCadieux

Season 2 is now complete. Buckle up, the story of Peter Pocklingtons rise from ambitious young man to a business leader and @NHL owner is for the first time coming at you in LEGO. #pocklingtonstories will drop this Monday March 16th, one a day for following 100 days.