B.C. premier asks people partying during pandemic to ‘think of Ryan’s mom’

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — Premier John Horgan agrees Ryan Reynolds may not be the best choice to get the word out to people about the dangers of partying during the pandemic.

But the message is the same.

“I’m really pleased that Ryan Reynolds responded and, of course, his humor is unparalleled,” Horgan said at the Legislature on Friday after receiving a message from the Deadpool actor.

“I had no idea that he used to be Hugh Jackman, for example. But underlying that humor was a very serious message and we want to reach out to those who are not hearing the message either from our daily briefings or from news coverage and speaking to that group of people saying, ‘Think about your mom, think about Ryan’s mom, think about David Suzuki and all of the elders in our community,'” the premier added.

“We need to protect them. And we need to protect each other. Having someone like Ryan Reynolds step into this debate reminds us one more time, that we’re all in this together.”

You with your mom jokes, me with my dad jokes, just trying to keep people safe. Thanks, Ryan. xoxo. https://t.co/DBOhaaf78O

— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) August 14, 2020

Earlier in the week, Horgan called on Reynolds and Seth Rogan to get involved in encouraging smart behaviour during the pandemic as COVID-19 cases in B.C. continue to rise, especially among young people.

Reynolds responded Friday in a tweet.

“Hey, Premier Horgan, Ryan Reynolds here. I got your message about the thing. I’m not sure it’s a great idea, frankly. People, I don’t think they want medical advice from guys like me, no sir,” says Reynolds, 43.

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“Young folks in B.C., ya they are partying, which is, of course, dangerous, and they probably don’t know thousands of young people aren’t just getting sick from coronavirus,” he adds.

“Of course, it’s terrible that it affects our most vulnerable. B.C., that’s home to some of the coolest older people on earth. I mean, David Suzuki, he lives there, my mom. She doesn’t want to be cooped up in her apartment all day. ”

Reynolds jokes his mother would rather be out on Kits Beach looking for cute younger guys, but also had a more serious message.

“I hope that young people in B.C. don’t kill my mom, frankly, or David Suzuki, for that matter. Let’s not kill anyone. I think that’s reasonable.”

Rogen also responded to the premier on Twitter on Friday.

“Just slid in to your DMs!,” Rogen says.

Just slid in to your DMs!

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) August 14, 2020

Horgan said the province plans to reach out to other celebrities with B.C. connections, including Tiktok stars and Instagram influencers to make further appeals to youth.

“A lot of British Columbians of all age groups want to get involved in this debate because it’s about our future as individuals and families in this community,” he added.

“We do need to get to the TikTok group the YouTubers, but we also want to take advantage of people like Seth Rogen and Michael J. Fox, Michael Buble and Ryan Reynolds, these are British Columbians who people recognize and respect, although as Ryan Reynolds says, maybe he should be getting medical advice from Deadpool. But the principle, the underlying message is we’re in this together. Think about your family. Think about your community. Act responsibly.”

Listen to Horgan respond to the message from Ryan Reynolds: