The actors who play superheroes in Marvel’s hit movies—arguably among the most successful films of all time—may be united in fighting Thanos and other intergalactic forces of evil, but perhaps may not be so united in agreement when it comes to Covid-19 vaccines.
Last week, Evangeline Lilly, who plays the Wasp in the Ant-Man movies, posted on Instagram that she had recently been to Washington DC “to support bodily sovereignty” posting photos of a rally attended by people in opposition to Covid vaccination mandates.
“This is not the way. This is not safe. This is not healthy. This is not love. I understand the world is in fear, but I don’t believe that answering fear with force will fix our problems,” the actress wrote.
Ms Lilly’s post received both support and backlash.
However, on the day after her post, actor Simu Liu, who gained acclaim last year for his starring role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, took to Twitter to write, “The media needs to stop spotlighting opinions that are not rooted in facts or science.”
And while Mr Liu did not mention Ms Lilly by name, it was widely perceived that his tweet was in reference to her Instagram post.
The Canadian actor and stuntman revealed that he had lost both grandparents to Covid last year.
“They were still waiting for their vaccines,” he added.
“I’m fortunate to have been double-vaccinated and boosted when I got COVID 2 weeks ago. Felt like a cold.”
In a follow-up tweet, he wrote, “As a @UNICEFCanada ambassador I have seen the organization’s efforts to deliver vaccines to underprivileged families around the world. It’s a reminder of how lucky we are to be living in places where vaccine delivery and storage are not an issue. Please, PLEASE appreciate that.”
On the same day, Ms Lilly’s co-star in the Ant-Man movies, David Dastmalchian, also tweeted “It’s so unfortunate when people with a large platform use that platform to share irresponsible things.”
He later added a link to an article that discussed how polarized Americans have become with regard to science, and urged the public to “Support our educators, medical community and scientists!”
“Such a sad time when science, education and the well-being of others is held in less regard than personal privilege,” he wrote.
Another Marvel star, Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, has also come under fire for a seemingly anti-Covid vaccine stance. In December 2020, Ms Wright shared an anti-vaccine video on Twitter, encouraging people to “think” and “ask questions for themselves.”
She later deleted her earlier tweets, and wrote, “My intention was not to hurt anyone, my only intention of posting the video was it raised my concerns with what the vaccine contains and what we are putting in our bodies. Nothing else.” /TISG
Read also: Simu Liu was worried that they wouldn’t finish filming Shang-Chi due to Covid-19
Simu Liu was worried that they wouldn’t finish filming Shang-Chi due to Covid-19