Riz Ahmed says Covid-19 has taught people to value those who were previously discriminated against

Riz Ahmed thinks coronavirus will prompt society to "migrate to online living".

The 37-year-old actor-and-rapper believes there has been a gradual shift towards people living more insular lives but the social distancing measures put in place to slow the spread of the virus have accelerated the change even further.

Speaking to the latest issue of GQ Hype, he said: "We're going to migrate to online living in a way that we could have done before but just didn't. The seeds of that were already sown. We're accelerating towards a world of closed borders, a fear of the outsider, governments with sweeping powers.

"And equally, we're accelerating towards the fact that the economy doesn't come first. Lives come first. The planet comes first. Our general well-being comes first."

Riz thinks the pandemic has taught people to value those who were previously discriminated against and will lead to less racism within society.

He said: "Who are the people who, for every moment of crisis in this country, have kept this country together? It's the people at the bottom of the barrel; the people being hit hardest by this pandemic.

"We say we love the NHS (United Kingdom National Health Service) more than the royal family, more than the army, but do we love the people who keep the NHS alive?

"Because every time we tell people to f*** off back to where they came from, that's not what we're saying. So I really hope that this revelation, this awakening, opens our minds to that reality, to the stupidity of our prejudice."

The star sometimes questions whether it is always "appropriate" for him to speak publicly about the causes that matter to him and he doesn't want his activism to overshadow his professional life

He said: "Sometimes you wonder whether certain things are appropriate to say out loud publicly in a really brazen way or whether they are the kind of thing that you just let pass through your head when you're in the shower or say to a few close friends.

"As an artist, I don't want to be defined as an activist. I want to be defined as an artist. I want to step up to a blank canvas to paint something."

Read the full interview with Riz at GQ Hype https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/riz-ahmed-long-goodbye-interview.

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