‘Humbled’ actor responds to criticism with admission that he was irresponsible for not following physical distancing guidelines

Actor Josh Brolin has apologised after visiting his father, James, and stepmother, Barbra Streisand, during lockdown in California.

In a now deleted social media post, Brolin had photographed himself while wearing a mask as his family, including his wife Kathryn and one-year-old daughter, assembled on an outdoor patio. A caption on the picture read: “There’s nothing like a good meeting up with family when all you can hear is a distant muffling of what used to be called words.” Streisand also posted a picture on social media of Kathryn Brolin holding a sign during the visit, which she said happened on Tuesday.

However, Brolin subsequently posted a video in response to criticism that he had not followed physical distancing guidelines. Brolin said he was “humbled” and added: “My father lives next door to us, and we had a plan to go see them and not be near them and that plan was broken and that’s our responsibility … I think it was irresponsible.”

He added: “You know, it’s hard to be honest sometimes … and say, ‘Maybe I screwed up’ … The responses brought me back to my own truth and it’s humbling as hell, man.”

Brolin appeared to refer to the current protests against lockdown, saying: “I know there’s some people out there that [have] no masks, no gloves, no interest in it. They think it’s in your head, that you’ll survive because of immunity that’s created from your own psychic weight.

“I do feel responsible to my fellow man, period … I am not an advocate of anything outside of taking care of each other and making sure we get through this, even if we go overboard.”