Kevin Bacon Launches "6 Degrees" Campaign About Social Distancing Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

As entertainment jokes and games go, there's none more popular than Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Also called "Bacon's Law," it's the concept that pretty much anyone involved in the Hollywood film industry can be linked to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less because the actor has worked with a significant number of people in the industry or people who had worked with them. Now, Bacon is playing off of his Six Degrees popularity, using it as a friendly and fun way to remind people to practice social distancing while the public hunkers down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a video Bacon shared on various social media sites, including Instagram, on Wednesday, Bacon joked that he's "technically only six degrees away" from the viewer and used that connection to explain how COVID-19 could be spread and then encourage people to share who they are staying home for -- meaning who it is they are hoping to keep safe by staying home as part of his "6 Degrees" campaign.

"Hi, folks. You know me, right? I'm technically only six degrees away from you," Bacon said. "Right now, like people around the world, I'm staying home, because it saves lives and it is the only way we're going to slow down the spread of this coronavirus. Because the contact that you make with someone, who makes contact with someone else, that may be what makes somebody's mom or grandpa or wife sick."

View this post on Instagram

#IStayHomeFor @kikkosedg! Hey everybody, it’s now so important to stay home and keep our distance from others if you are able. It’s one way we can help prevent the spread of #Coronavirus and save lives. The more of us who can, make it safer for those who can’t. So if you’re home too like me, post a video or photo with a sign like mine, telling who you are staying home for and ask 6 friends to do the same. Post it with the hashtag #IStayHomeFor so I can see and share. The more folks involved, the merrier - We’re all connected by various degrees (Trust me, I know!) I’m kicking it off with @jimmyfallon @eltonjohn @Brandicarlile @kevinhart4real @ddlovato @davidbeckham - but I encourage YOU ALL to join in too! Let’s use this 6 Degree thing to do some good! . . . . #Corona #Coronavirus #StayHome #StaySafe #6Degrees #ThinkingOfYou #SpreadTheWord

A post shared by Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon) on Mar 18, 2020 at 8:03am PDT

Bacon isn't the only celebrity reaching out to fans and followers with reassuring messages during the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Matthew McConaughey also took to social media urging people work together against the common "enemy", the generally message being that we are stronger united, metaphorically speaking.

"Right now more than ever before, we're all more dependent on each other than we ever have been," McConaughey said in part. "We have an enemy in coronavirus that is faceless, that is raceless, sexless, non-denominational and bipartisan, and it's an enemy that we all agree we want to beat. We want to beat and we're going to beat."

According to the World Health Organization, as of March 18 there have been 207,860 confirmed cases of COVID with 8,657 deaths across 166 countries, areas, or territories. In the United States, there have been 7,087 confirmed cases.

What do you think about Bacon's message? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images