Update (Oct. 6, 2021): Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress Letitia Wright is continuing her anti-vaccination stance on the set of the Marvel film in Atlanta.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wright has shown skepticism over the COVID-19 vaccine. Disney has implemented a vaccine mandate, requiring cast members to show physical proof of vaccination while on set.
In 2020, the actress shared a 70-minute YouTube video of a person spewing anti-vaccine rhetoric, The Week reported. The self-proclaimed prophet in the video also criticized climate change and transgender people.
After receiving immediate backlash, Wright posted a now-deleted tweet that said her "intention was not to hurt anyone," Gizmodo reported.
"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," she wrote.
Original (Dec. 4, 2020): Actress Letitia Wright has been receiving heat on social media after she tweeted a link to a YouTube video that contained misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations in development.
On Thursday, Wright posted a 69-minute video from the YouTube channel On The Table that includes speaking points from Light London Church leader Tomi Arayomi, according to Variety. The channel is known for Arayomi questioning the legitimacy of topics like COVID-19 vaccinations, climate change and China’s involvement in the creation of the pandemic.
Variety reported that Wright's tweet has since been removed. YouTube has also banned the video for violating its terms of service policy.
According to Buzzfeed, the video starts with Arayomi admitting, "I don't understand vaccines medically, but I've always been a little bit of a skeptic of them."
“These are the dangers of the world we’re entering into today, where if you say a thing enough times people will actually believe it’s true,” he later adds.
Fans of the Black Panther star took to social media to warn the 27-year-old about the dangers of spreading misinformation and sharing a video that also contains transphobic statements.
Thinking for yourself doesn’t mean you’re right. And you aren’t cancelled. But damn. Promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and shrouding it in intellectual curiosity is asinine. And dangerous.
— roxane gay (@rgay) December 4, 2020
Your ignorance is a choice. All the science is there at your fingertips. You are showing massive disrespect to thousands upon thousands of scientists who have dedicated their lives to the study of virology and have made all their knowledge available to you.
— Laura Leishman (@lauraleishman) December 4, 2020
At first, the actress was a bit defensive in receiving the criticism and laughed at the idea that she was being canceled over her skepticism for a vaccine.
"if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled,” she wrote Thursday.
if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled ????
— Letitia Wright (@letitiawright) December 4, 2020
Don Cheadle, Wright’s co-star in the Marvel Avengers movie series, defended his colleague but condemned the anti-vaccination messages the video communicated.
“jesus… just scrolled through. hot garbage. every time i stopped and listened, he and everything he said sounded crazy and fkkkd up. i would never defend anybody posting this. but i still won’t throw her away over it. the rest i’ll take off twitter. had no idea,” he wrote.
jesus… just scrolled through. hot garbage. every time i stopped and listened, he and everything he said sounded crazy and fkkkd up. i would never defend anybody posting this. but i still won't throw her away over it. the rest i'll take off twitter. had no idea. https://t.co/7uDlP1xwDL
— Don "bruh, you lost" Cheadle (@DonCheadle) December 4, 2020
Wright later took the time to explain her post in detail, writing that she was focused on the implications a vaccination could mean for public health.
"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," she 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.
— Letitia Wright (@letitiawright) December 4, 2020
According to CNN, the U.K. became the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been granted emergency authorization by British officials with the first doses expected to be distributed early next week.
Although many are skeptical of the speed at which the vaccine was approved, including American medical expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, the doctor has since apologized. According to U.S. News, Fauci said he misspoke and reaffirmed his faith in the British medical community.
"You know, at the end of the day, it's going to be safe, it's going to be effective, the people in the U.K. are going to receive it and they're going to do really well, and the people in the United States are going to receive it and we're going to do pretty well," Fauci said.
