Reality TV star Jeff Lewis is under fire after talking flippantly about a giant holiday party he threw that resulted in he and several others contracting COVID-19 over the holidays.
The star of Bravo's Flipping Out made the comments on his SiriusXM radio show, saying the party he threw was so "epic" it was "worth almost dying for."
As hospitals across the country fill nearly to the point of collapse with COVID-19 patients, Lewis' flippant attitude about his opulent superspreader event makes Marie Antoinette look downright empathetic.
And it's gone over about as well as you'd expect on social media.
Reality TV star who got Covid at party said bash was 'worth almost dying for\u2019https://www.indy100.com/news/reality-tv-covid-party-worth-it-b1983342?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1640729452\u00a0\u2026— indy100 (@indy100) 1640740782
Lewis said on his radio program that the party was held on December 21.
It was a few days later when the results of the party—positive COVID-19 tests—began rolling in.
As Lewis put it:
“Thursday is when everyone started testing positive."
"Everyone" included Lewis' co-host Megan Weaver, assistant Shane Douglas, actress Monika Casey, Shahs of Sunset star Mercedeh Javid Feight and Lewis' boyfriend Scott Anderson among others.
According to Lewis:
"A third of us got it. And we also have people with symptoms who haven't been tested yet."
And from Lewis's telling, this was no "just a bad cold" case of COVID-19—Lewis said at one point he thought he might die.
"My fever went up to 103.8. [Lewis' boyfriend] Scottie took a bowl of ice water and was putting cloths on my body to try to bring the temperature down."
"I was a little delirious and I told him, ‘I think you’re going to wake up tomorrow and I’m going to be dead'.”
Despite that harrowing experience, Lewis claims it was all worth it.
“That was an epic party. It was so worth almost dying for."
And he's not having any of the criticisms being leveled against him, either.
Lewis insists he and his friends did nothing wrong.
“People are saying we’re reckless and stupid. No, we’re not, fu*kers. We were all vaccinated and we had a nurse there testing all of us before we even went in the door. I thought we were being responsible.”
Luckily for Lewis, he was able to receive life-saving monoclonal antibody therapy—a treatment frequently out of reach for many patients without his financial and celebrity connections—administered by a doctor in his home, no less.
As you might guess, the layers of oblivious privilege in Lewis' anecdote went over like a lead balloon.
I\u2019m sorry but after two years of ppl NOT listening to the medical community, my heart has become an ice box. If Jeff Lewis is stupid enough to be at a holiday party knowing there is a new extremely highly contagious variant and got covid. I don\u2019t give a F.— \u201cAnd justice for all\u201d \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@\u201cAnd justice for all\u201d \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1640633291
Never heard of him before, but he\u2019s a jerk.\nJeff Lewis Says He and Others Got COVID At 'Superspreader' Holiday Party: 'I Was in Pretty Bad Sh... https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jeff-lewis-says-others-got-190407226.html?soc_src=community&soc_trk=tw\u00a0\u2026 via @Yahoo— Patricia Millerioux (@Patricia Millerioux) 1640634033
jeff lewis evil\njeff lewis superspreader\njeff lewis jealous\njeff lewis corrupt\njeff lewis botched\njeff lewis positive for covid— juju \u02d6\u02da\u02f3 \u2606\u301c (@juju \u02d6\u02da\u02f3 \u2606\u301c) 1640717014
signs you are a repugnant - pure stupidity\n\nit was worth it?https://www.tmz.com/2021/12/27/jeff-lewis-covid-superspreader-party-worth-it-fever/?fbclid=IwAR2Wbgc_XQzX1ySTRja7F_hQY196tki0v3evgNrTS_Nwxn2k7ujOSGWJVSU\u00a0\u2026— i'm a \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffd B\u0285\u03c5\u04bd W\u03b1\u028b\u04bd (commenting) (@i'm a \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffd B\u0285\u03c5\u04bd W\u03b1\u028b\u04bd (commenting)) 1640698134
@thatpackergirl @nursekelsey @hodgjy What a jack@$. Dude got COVID but says the party was worth it.https://www.tmz.com/2021/12/27/jeff-lewis-covid-superspreader-party-worth-it-fever/\u00a0\u2026— PattyIsBoosted&Masked \ud83d\ude37 \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@PattyIsBoosted&Masked \ud83d\ude37 \ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1640640636
pic.twitter.com/nILE7b8TlR— Elizabeth Reynoso (@Elizabeth Reynoso) 1640653562
The amount of of ableism and lack of accountability in this article astounds me! \u201cNot caring\u2026almost worth dying for\u2026\u201d! Not to mention let\u2019s flaunt our wealth by getting a treatment at home worth thousands that\u2019s typically only saved for the worst of the worst in the hospital!— KAlexColby (@KAlexColby) 1640642271
The privilege of getting a dr to go over to his house & give him monoclonal antibody shot. And the cruelty toward Doug. Unreal the amount of suffering he is totally out of touch with. Perfect illustration of the US right now.— Kai (@Kai) 1640636542
pic.twitter.com/jKnJ4o5Vs2— Amanda (@Amanda) 1640658318
I had not heard about stupid being a symptom. But this guy stands by his opinion. We can wish him well and wonder how many party goers are sick and how many of those sickies took an extra gift home\nAnd how many older or younger folks are deadly ill. Was it worth it— BattleAxe (@BattleAxe) 1640658028
Lewis also went on to decry what his COVID-19 case has done to the staff who runs his home, lamenting he's now down to just two housekeepers who aren't sick.
"...And if anything happens to those two, I’m not going to be able to feed myself. I don’t know who is going to be able to take care of me!”
We wish Lewis the best of luck in his recovery, both from COVID-19 and his astonishing case of Marie Antoinette-level privilege.
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