One of the constant delights of the internet is the ongoing “feud” between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman that sees the two superhero actors take shots at each other that usually revolve around their personae in comic book movies.
The latest installment comes off the back of a positive reaction to a serious problem. Reynolds and wife Blake Lively donated $1 million split between charities Feeding America and Food Banks Canada, which will doubtless go quite a way towards supporting those in need during a difficult time. But Reynolds also couldn’t resist using it to take a swipe at the Nicest Man In Movies Who Isn’t Tom Hanks.
Jackman isn’t currently one of the increasing number of celebrities in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, but has been in the news after an attempt at demonstrating proper hand washing technique backfired when he was criticized for leaving the faucet on. Unlike many celebrities who are called out, he actually admitted his mistake and pledged to do better, encouraging the same from others.
Some people’s lives were already difficult enough before the world was thrown into turmoil by a raging pandemic, and food banks have been a lifeline for helping them get by. That they are actually necessary in modern industrialized nations is another conversation entirely, and one that I’m not going to get into here.
You can generally rely on Ryan Reynolds’ sense of humor to bring some light into the darkness, and his efforts to use his wealth and privilege to make life slightly less miserable is admirable and something that more of the planet’s wealthy would do well to emulate.
Also, if more aggression could take the form of a pair of inherently friendly people good-naturedly throwing mild barbs at each other, the world would be far less of the mounting hellscape that it currently is.