Idris Elba shoots down claims of him getting paid to lie about COVID-19 diagnosis

Hollywood A-lister Idris Elba after testing positive with the novel coronavirus has given birth to rumours of him lying about his diagnosis.

The Thor actor addressed the conspiracy theories making rounds on the internet about celebrities getting money to lie about their diagnoses of the infectious disease.

In an Instagram Live session, the actor termed the circulating news as bogus.

"Test-shaming is, like, counterproductive. I don't see what people get out of that,” he said to his 4.7 million followers.

"And also, like, this idea that someone like myself is gunna be paid to say I've got coronavirus -- that's absolute [expletive], such stupidness,” he added.

Elba had announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month after his exposure to someone with the disease.

His wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, too was tested positive, only a week after his diagnosis, after she refused to isolate herself from him.

“I don't feel anything that would come to what people would now expect to be a symptom of coronavirus, which is really strange. It might change in the coming weeks, and we'll keep everyone updated,” she said during a FaceTime interview on Oprah Winfrey’s show Oprah Talks.