Dennis Quaid defends his role in White House's controversial $300million coronavirus awareness ad saying he wasn't paid and 'it was in no way political'

Dennis Quaid is defending himself after he faced backlash for joining Trump's new $300million coronavirus awareness ad campaign ahead of the presidential election saying, 'It was in no way political'. 

The news of the ad, led by the Health and Human Services Department, was first reported by Politico and the project was described as being funded by money preciously allocated to the CDC.

The ad is set to launch prior to Election Day on November 3. 

On Saturday night Quaid, who has previously voiced his support for the president, shared a video on Instagram clarifying that he was not paid for participating in the campaign.

'I have to say that right now I am feeling some outrage and a lot of disappointment about a PSA, an interview, that I did, with Dr. Anthony Fauci a few weeks ago,' he said.

Dennis Quaid is defending himself after he faced backlash for joining Trump's new $300million coronavirus awareness ad campaign ahead of the presidential election saying, 'It was in no way political'

He shared a video on Instagram on Saturday clarifying he was not paid for the campaign adding the caption, 'no good deed goes unpoliticized'

In April Quaid said on Trump: 'I think Trump, no matter what anybody thinks of him, is doing a good job at trying to get these states – and all of the American people – what they need.' Pictured in December 2019

'It is being used by the cancel culture media, that I was doing a campaign ad, an endorsement, of Donald Trump, and that I was paid handsomely for this by diverted CDC funds. Nothing could be further from the truth,' he added.

He said the purpose of the campaign was to 'raising awareness of COVID-19 and what we can still do to prevent lives being lost by this terrible, terrible virus.' 

'In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci and I both talked about it before that it was not to be political, as the virus is not political. I was not paid one penny for doing this interview and neither was Dr. Anthony Fauci,' the 66-year-old actor stated.

He captioned his post 'NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPOLITICIZED.'  

Quaid has previously praised Trump for his work in office amid the pandemic.

'I think Trump, no matter what anybody thinks of him, is doing a good job at trying to get these states – and all of the American people – what they need and also trying to hold our economy together and be prepared for when this is all over,' he said in April 2020 to the Daily Beast. 

Gospel singer CeCe Winans also took to social media to clarify that her involvement in the campaign was 'not political at all'. Her video shared Saturday clarifying the ad wasn't political for her right

Quaid faced backlash in his post by outraged fans. 

One fan commented on his video: 'Explain your April remarks. Don’t spin it now. Trump used you.'

'You know very well you have enjoyed your endorsement of a Dictator before Covid. Start there. While your actions are good, start blaming one person. Trump. Start the blame there. No cancel culture media when CDC backslides all the time. Dennis, wear a mask and next time? Never underestimate the hypocrisy of CDC. Shame on you,' another added.

'Dennis Quaid is seriously like the epitome of a Trump supporter,' one Instagram user said. 

The campaign sparked controversy for featuring Trump-friendly celebrities including Quaid and gospel singer CeCe Winans. The HHSD has also approached Dr Mehmet Oz and country singer Garth Brooks for roles as well, but their involvement is not known.

The campaign will reportedly cast the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in a positive light. 

The HHSD has also approached Dr Mehmet Oz and country singer Garth Brooks for roles in the campaign

Winans also took to social media to clarify that her involvement in the campaign was 'not political at all'. 

'I was asked a couple of weeks ago to do an interview with the surgeon general, Jerome Adams, about the coronavirus. And this interview stresses how important it is for everyone to wear a mask, and it also gives us other instructions on how to get on the other side of this pandemic,' she said in a video uploaded Saturday. 

'It was not political at all. We have lost so many lives because of COVID-19. Let’s all do everything we can so we won’t lose any more. God bless you,' she added.

The ad will consist of video interviews between the stars and Trump administration as they discuss the government's response to the pandemic.

The campaign aims to 'restore hope' and combat the doom and gloom portrayed in the media, sources told the news outlet.

HS spokesperson Michael Caputo, who this week announced he has been diagnosed with cancer, spearheaded the projected at Trump's request, he said

The campaign will reportedly cast the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in a positive light. Trump pictured May 13

The taxpayer-funded effort was spearheaded by HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo, who this week announced he has been diagnosed with cancer.

In a video shared on Facebook last week, Caputo said the ad campaign was 'demanded of me by the president of the United States. Personally.'

Caputo claimed Democrats and 'leftists scientists' are against the effort, because 'they cannot afford for us to have any good news before November because they're already losing.'

'They're going to come after me because I'm going to be putting $250 million worth of ads on the air,' he said.

The country's governing health body, the CDC, is not involved in the public health campaign, according to Politico.