A viral tweet earlier in the year from Ottawa Public Health blaming “Bruce” for prematurely congratulating the winner of the Super Bowl without updating the placeholder text was, in fact, Ryan Reynolds’ fault.
That’s according to a new tweet from OPH and the Canadian star of Deadpool, Detective Pikachu and “that episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch.”
Reynolds appeared in an OPH Twitter video Friday morning taking credit for the supposed gaffe, in which Ottawa’s public health unit blamed a hapless intern named “Bruce” for failing to update the text and image to congratulate the Kansas City Chiefs for their Super Bowl LIV victory.
“That Bruce. Yes, that’s me,” Reynolds said.
While explaining that he occasionally moonlights as an OPH twitter user — “everybody does!” — he claimed the error was because he is just so busy these days, and asked if everyone could please “back off.”
Of course, the number of people who got a good kick out of the original tweet meant a larger platform for OPH to promote its usual messaging around the novel coronavirus pandemic, specifically around the dangers of misinformation.
The sequel, starring Reynolds, had a similar theme.
Prompts to wear a mask, wash your hands, stay home, get tested and get vaccinated pop up around Reynolds’ head in the video.
“We can do this. And we will do this. Steady as she goes, Ottawa,” he said to close out the video.
This isn’t the first time Reynolds has lent a hand to Ottawa in the pandemic.
He and his wife, Blake Lively, donated to the Ottawa Food Bank back in April 2020, citing his roots growing up as a kid in the east-end Vanier neighbourhood for part of his life.
Later that month, the pair also made a donation to the Distress Centre of Ottawa and Region.
Reynolds has also provided similar COVID-19 messaging support in his native British Columbia.