Evangeline Lilly stirred all sorts of drama when she posted pictures of herself in Washington, D.C. attending a protest against vaccine mandates. The Ant-Man and the Wasp star, who plays Hope Van Dyne in the Marvel cinematic universe, wrote “I was in D.C. this weekend to support bodily sovereignty while Canadian truckers were rallying for their cross-country, peaceful convoy in support of the same thing.” She added “I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will.”
Lilly’s post was quickly met with calls for her to be recast in the MCU. Vaccine misinformation has already poisoned the minds of countless Americans, who are forgoing the safe and effective vaccine in favor of quackery and half-baked individualism. This rhetoric, that vaccines are somehow anti-freedom, has prolonged the pandemic and clogged hospitals across the country.
Our own Rachel Leishman described it by writing, “All of this is incredible harmful rhetoric to share online given the politicization of the vaccine. It isn’t strange for vaccine requirements. Immunization records for children heading to school have been around for decades. But the COVID-19 vaccine has become a political talking point and has now made this pandemic stretch longer than necessary given our access to vaccines in the United States. Having stars like Lilly share ideas of “pro-choice” about the vaccine is, frankly, a Republican talking point and a dangerous one.”
Now, Lilly’s fellow MCU actors are speaking out. Her Ant-Man co-star David Dastmalchian tweeted, “It’s so unfortunate when people with a large platform use that platform to share irresponsible things.”
Simu Liu, star of Shangi-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, tweeted “I lost my grandparents to COVID last year. They were still waiting for their vaccines. I’m fortunate to have been double-vaccinated and boosted when I got COVID 2 weeks ago. Felt like a cold” He added, “The media needs to stop spotlighting opinions that are not rooted in facts or science.”
Lilly is the second MCU actor to spread misinformation about vaccines, following Black Panther‘s Letitia Wright. Wright was the presumed heir to the Black Panther mantle, but her anti-vaccine views may see her relegated to a supporting role in the upcoming sequel. As for Lilly, filming has already been wrapped for her next installment, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is set to be released in 2023.
(image: Marvel Studios)
- Matt Reeves on the ‘James Bond-ian’ version of ‘The Batman’ that almost was. (via io9)
- The ‘Halo’ TV series will drop their first trailer during the Super Bowl. (via CBR)
- ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is coming for ‘Avatar’s box office record. (via Collider)
- Jason Momoa is in talks to join the next Fast and the Furious installment. (via THR)
- ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ is gloriously queer. (via Autostraddle)
- Everyone is talking about Pokémon Legends: Arceus. (via Polygon)
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