Toronto's Director X slammed for promoting herbs to treat coronavirus
He may be one of the most-acclaimed music video producers ever to come out of Canada, but Julien Christian Lutz (aka Director X) is no medical professional.
This is a very important distinction to make for any of the 44-year-old artist's nearly 200,000 Instagram followers.
The frequent Drake collaborator is being criticized heavily today after uploading a one minute and 16-second-long video to his personal IG account in which he doles out "tips" on how people can fightthe 2019 novel coronavirus"naturally."
Director X — one of the most influential filmmakers to ever come out of Canada — is spreading dangerous coronavirus misinformation to his 190k Instagram followers:https://t.co/CFTOOu6A56pic.twitter.com/JMsZl0xQPP
— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie)March 13, 2020
“日冕病毒(原文如此)每个人都震动了。这是耶鲁大学管理学院e alternative medicine,"reads the caption of the clip.
"Perhaps this whole Corona thing is the universe wanting more people to learn that many of the ailments they have can be treated naturally," it continues.
"There are many natural herbs that are anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, help with brain function, help muscles recover, help with diabetes, help the nervous and respiratory systems, lessen the symptoms of arthritis, psoriasis and eczema."
Public health officials, meanwhile, are scrambling todevelop a vaccineagainst the virus causing COVID-19, which earlier this week was declared a global pandemic.
Canada's federal government is advising anyone who is experiencing even mild respiratory symptoms to stay at home and notify their regional health authorities.
We are receiving many questions about#COVID19& are grateful people are asking us to get informed. Please visit our website or call 416-338-7600, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for more info:https://t.co/l0dtb07kIf
— Toronto Public Health (@TOPublicHealth)March 6, 2020
There is no known cure or vaccine for COVID-19 at this time — not even two teaspoons of tumeric in water three times a day, as Director X advises for anyone currently fighting an infection.
The Toronto-born filmmaker — who, again, has no medical training — recommends that his followers come up with their own natural health treatment regimes using Google, directly contradicting everything every doctor has ever said.
"How do you find out what does what? Well the internet is your friend. Google the name of the herb followed by 'benefits' and a bag of websites will come up," he writes.
"If you really want to do a deep dive google the name of the herb and 'studies' and the actual studies will come up. You have to be a detective and search out what works best for you."
He then goes on to promote the company that made the tracksuit he's wearing.
Is it? Its satire to direct people to the database of all human knowledge and teach them how to find credible published studies. How about you try what I suggest and tell me how many times you find yourself on thehttps://t.co/okC1WjtPgrspoiler alert: You'll be on the ncbi alotpic.twitter.com/jo2MHZelV8
— Director X (@iDirectorX)March 13, 2020
Both in the comments of his own post on Instagram and publicly on Twitter, people are criticizing Director X's actions as irresponsible anddangerous.
"The implication of your Instagram post was that herbs 'may' have therapeutic effect on COVid-19. Irrespective of benefit for other maladies; there's no evidentiary support for Coronavirus,"wrote one Twitter userdirectly to the artist.
"The gullible may try your 'remedy' and resultingly die. That is harmful."
Director X, for his part, maintains that he's only teaching people how to do research online.
"You maybe confused when you look at me and see what do but hear me talk about science. Be clear. If I'm talking science there's studies and empirical evidence to back it up,"he wrote on Twitterearly Friday morning.
"Don't get it twisted. Your [sic] revealing alot [sic] about yourself when you assume I'm incapable of talking about it."
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