Dr. Anthony Fauci’s newfound fame has been a “mixed-bag” that has attracted “unwanted attention,” according to his wife, Dr. Christine Grady, a bioethicist who is currently the chief of the National Institutes of Health Bioethics Department.
Speaking with ELLE back in June, Grady said that while she appreciates the American public’s idolization of her husband, it has its share of trouble.
“I mean, I think it’s great that he’s able to communicate with people in ways that make things clearer and that make people feel supported and calmer,” she told ELLE. “He’s working an unbelievable amount of hours and not taking many breaks for himself. I do think it’s resulted in what I would call unwanted attention on me and my children. That’s the unfortunate side.”
ELLE highlighted the media’s various efforts to transform Fauci into a rockstar for the ages:
It didn’t take long for the American public to lionize the soft-spoken infectious disease expert. His bespectacled face was meme-ified and printed on coffee mugs, masks, and prayer candles. He inspired love songs and appeared on late-night talk shows. The New Yorker dubbed him “America’s Doctor,” and Brad Pitt played him on SNL.
26,000 people also signed a petition for People magazine to select Fauci for this year’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” He has also become a best-selling bobblehead. Ultimately, Grady yearns for the days of normalcy.
“There was no way to know that Tony would get as much attention as he’s gotten from the beginning,” she says. “We do talk and strategize about it… but it’s not something, really, you can do anything about.”
Grady’s current job in the COVID-19 crisis is to oversee the nation’s ethical response to the pandemic.
Speaking with 1010Wins after his pitch at the Washington Nationals game, Fauci expounded a bit on the darker side of his newfound fame, including death threats.
“There is a big divisiveness in the country about politicizing this response to the COVID outbreak, where people feel that some of the public health measures that I’ve been advocating, which are purely for the purpose of preserving the health and safety of the American people, are interfering with their lives,” he said. “They don’t want to be told what to do and they get very hostile about it, and it’s just extraordinary. I was quite surprised and taken aback by the amount of threats, not only against me, but my family, my wife and my daughters.”
“It’s death threats to me, and inappropriate harassing of my wife and my children,” he added. “They’re getting, they know what their phone numbers (are), they know where they work, because everything seems to be public, and they harass them. It’s very unsettling.”