KEY POINTS

  • Amada Kloots called out President Donald Trump after the POTUS said people should not be afraid of COVID-19 
  • Kloots lost her husband Nick Cordero to COVID-19 in July
  • The theater actress contradicted what Trump wrote by saying that coronavirus "is something to be afraid of"

Amanda Kloots called President Donald Trump's post about not being afraid of the coronavirus sad, hurtful and disgraceful. Kloots' late husband Nick Cordero was hospitalized for months and suffered numerous health complications because of COVID-19 before passing away in July.

On Monday, Trump announced on Twitter that he was leaving Walter Reed Medical Center after testing positive for coronavirus. The POTUS then seemingly downplayed the global health crisis when he wrote, "Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life." Those statements did not sit well with Kloots, who lost her husband to the disease.

"To all the over 208,000 Americans who lost loved ones to this virus - I stand by you, with you, holding your hand," Kloots wrote on Instagram.

"Unfortunately it did dominate our lives didn’t it? It dominated Nick’s family’s lives and my family’s lives. I guess we ‘let it’ - like it was our choice?? Unfortunately not everyone is lucky enough to spend two days in the hospital. I cried next to my husband for 95 days watching what COVID did to the person I love,” she continued.

"It IS something to be afraid of. After you see the person you love the most die from this disease you would never say what this tweet says. There is no empathy to all the lives lost. He is bragging instead. It is sad. It is hurtful. It is disgraceful.”

Last month, Kloots and Cordero's friends and Broadway colleagues gathered together to pay tribute to the late Canadian actor. Kloots said her husband would have wanted his memorial to be a celebration. He wanted the people close to him to smile and he wanted to be remembered in a beautiful way because when he was still alive, he always felt so blessed.

Kloots also recounted how they met and fell in love. Looking back, they were very different and Cordero would often tell her they shouldn't be together. But for Kloots, their differences made them a perfect match. She even described Cordero as an "incredible husband" and an "amazing father, brother, son, best friend."

"I love my husband so much, and I'm so proud of the fight that he did that I watched, every single day, as he fought for his life," she said during the event.

"I will miss you every single day sweetheart. I love you so much. Thank you for leaving us with your music,” she concluded.

Amanda Kloots, Nick Cordero
Amanda Kloots and Nick Cordero attend the Beyond Yoga x Amanda Kloots Collaboration Launch Event on Aug. 27, 2019, in New York City. Noam Galai/Getty Images for Beyond Yoga