'Real Housewives' star says coronavirus is just 'God's way of thinning the herd'

Kelly Dodd, one of the stars of "The Real Housewives of Orange County," asserted that the coronavirus pandemic is "God's way of thinning the herd," in a now-deleted exchange on social media.

The comment, which some are calling insensitive and tone-deaf, was made while she was lashing out at critics on her Instagram account.

Dodd told her more than 757,000 followers that she was taking a coronavirus test after she went on an airplane flight. She made the comment while responding to commenters who said she should not have been flying.

"If it's dangerous why are the airlines still flying?" she wrote according to Page Six. "You think I want to fly? I had to get back, how is that elitist?"

In another exchange she downplayed the threat from the coronavirus and compared it to other viral pandemics.

"Do you know how many people died from the H1N1, the swine flu or SARS?" Dodd demanded. "It's 25% get your facts straight you only hearing numbers not the reality!"

"It's God's way of thinning the herd!" she added.

The comment was deleted but was captured by a writer and posted on social media.

As of Tuesday, there have been 824,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, with 45,297 Americans succumbing to the virus.

"I'm not God, I'm not insensitive."

Dodd later apologized in another Instagram post.

"I want to give a public apology. When I wrote this is 'God's way of thinning the herd,' that's not what I meant," Dodd said.

"What I meant was, do these pandemics happen because it's God's way?" she asked rhetorically. "I'm not God, I'm not insensitive. I feel bad for all the families who have lost loved ones. And I do think we should all stay home and protect everybody. That's not what I meant, and I want to apologize to anybody who got offended. I'm sorry."

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