I'm so confused by the #HollywoodJustFoundOut hashtag. I agree we don't need Madonna in her $3k bathtub talking about how we are now all equals in the face of this virus but the majority of Hollywood is not rich or famous and we're all scared. Afraid of getting sick or dying.

Like so many across the country we have lost our ability to earn a living. Our industry jobs are gone. Our survival jobs are gone. Most of us have little or no savings as the conglomerates that run this industry have squeezed the life out of middle class workers for years.

Few of us own homes much less mansions. Most are scrambling to pay rent and not get evicted. We're afraid of losing our health insurance if we are among the very few lucky enough to even have it in the first place. Only a handful work or earn enough each year to qualify.

It's ironic when you scroll through the tweets with this hashtag to see that the majority of them include clips and GIFs and memes taken from popular films and television shows in order express or emphasize the poster's feeling.

That is because these are the images, words and scenes that we all recognize. They are a part of what has entertained, inspired, provoked, confounded, and soothed us for years. We rely on these people and the work they do.

They provide us with an escape from our daily lives and struggles. They give us a communal experience when we gather to watch them, whether in a crowded theater, in the comfort of our homes, or on a lengthy work commute. We rely on them and expect them to be there on demand.

I assume everyone out there bashing out of touch, tone deaf, over privileged, elitist Hollywood is sitting at home doing crosswords, reading books, having sing-a-longs (of pre-WWI public domain songs), and enjoying hour after hour of conversations about what they didn't do today

and not watching endless hours of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, catching up on their favorite network sitcoms and dramas, movies on demand, giggling at the late night talk shows, and streaming hours of music and podcasts on iTunes and Spotify.

And I guess they are also embracing their inner Amish and entertaining their children with hours of storybooks, board games and hide-and-seek and not sitting them in front of the TV to watch Pixar movies on a loop so mommy and daddy can finally take a f**king shower.

Am I to believe that none of these folks are bored, sad or freaked out to the point of smoking a huge bowl or demolishing a six-pack or a box of wine and binging the entire Star Wars catalogue? Rewatching every episode of Friends, The Office, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, or Martin?

Yes, the billion dollar box office made $5k last week. But the reason that was shocking is because it's a multi-billion dollar business to begin with. Because people still go to the movies. In good times and bad. Especially in bad. You may decry Hollywood and those it employs but

damn if streaming traffic isn't through the roof right now. And the majority is for Netflix. Not sports (there is none). Not face-timing Aunt Bertha and her 6 chihuahuas back home. Not the 700 Club. Not online shopping (nothing is in stock). So, before you condemn all of these

Hollywood types who are just as scared and confused as the rest of us and many of whom are collectively donating millions of dollars to help those in need or using their talents to bring us a little bit of joy in the middle of a global f**king pandemic that has us all confined

to our homes teetering between bored AF and shitting the bed in fear, let us think where we'd be right now without them. No movies. No TV shows. No music. No comedy specials. Nothing to distract your kids for a blessed hour. No inside joke pop culture references or catch phrases.

Nothing but you, your imagination, the 24-hour news cycle, and maybe some playing cards or a game of Yahtzee.
*Disclaimer: I've worked in "Hollywood" for over 25 yrs in front of and behind the camera. I am not rich. I am not famous. I love and hate the industry in equal measure.