Yahoo Finance Jared Leto Recalls Shock At Emerging From Silent Retreat Into Full-Blown Pandemic
Jared Leto famously emerged from a 12-day silent meditation retreat in March 2020 to find the world plunged into lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Oscar-winning actor opened up about the strange and surreal experience — likening it to “coming out to the zombie apocalypse” — on “The Tonight Show” Monday.
“When I went away, there were about 150 cases,” Leto recalled to host Jimmy Fallon. “Just in that short amount of time, when I came out there was a shutdown, a state of emergency and the whole world had changed. But when we were in there, they didn’t tell us.”
Leto said he and other guests remained blissfully unaware of the developments in the outside world because cellphones, televisions and talking were all prohibited at the retreat.
“I didn’t turn on my phone until I went back to LA, so I drove the whole way, you know, trying to be like peaceful and zen, keep the feeling going,” Leto explained. “I got back and I was kind of shocked. It was like Rip Van Winkle.”
Fallon suggested it was “like a ‘Twilight Zone’ episode, but in real life.”
“I had this great tool to deal with ‘stress’ and things in life, but I don’t think anything can quite prepare any of us for what we all went through at the beginning,” Leto said.
The coronavirus has now killed more than 420,000 people nationwide.
Watch the interview here:
Related...
Street Artists Take On Coronavirus Pandemic With Powerful, Poignant And Witty Pieces
COVID-19 Changed The World, Yet Men On Tinder Remained Exactly The Same
How To Deal With The Anger You Feel Over People Ignoring COVID-19
A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus
Is it safe to see people who have gotten the coronavirus vaccine?
What it means if your partner tests positive for COVID-19 but you don’t.
How worried should you be about the new strains of coronavirus?
The unexpected challenges of co-parenting during a pandemic.
19 things we took for granted pre-pandemic but now miss.
Find all that and more on our coronavirus hub page.
As COVID-19 cases rise, it’s more important than ever to remain connected and informed. Join the HuffPost community today. (It’s free!)
Also on HuffPost
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
