Letitia Wright has faced Twitter backlash after posting a link to a YouTube video questioning whether people should take any prospective COVID-19 vaccine and the safety of vaccines generally.
The Black Panther star tweeted a video from On The Table, a YouTube discussion channel, where the presenter opined at length about the efficacy of vaccines, the dangers of taking them and the supposed origins of the ingredients of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I don’t understand vaccines medically, but I’ve always been a little bit of a skeptic of them,” the presenter Tomi Arayomi says towards the beginning of his monologue which was full of personal anecdotes and his own feelings on vaccines.
After Wright had posted the video to Twitter with the prayer hands emoji, she quickly became embroiled in arguments with users taking her to task for using her platform to spread misinformation on vaccines.
The British actress, who is currently starring in Steve McQueen’s acclaimed Small Axe anthology series, countered that she wasn’t against vaccines but thought it was important to “ask questions.” “I think it’s valid and fair to simply ask what’s in it,” she replied to one user.
Following a torrent of Twitter users admonishing her for posting the video, Wright tweeted, “if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled.”
Her comments come only days after the UK became the first country in the world to approve a Covid-19 vaccine – which will be rolled out nationwide from the beginning of next week.
Late on Thursday night, Wright’s Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Don Cheadle was drawn into the controversy. The ‘Iron Man’ star responded to Twitter users tagging him about Wright’s tweets, Cheadle replied that he will bring up the issue with her directly.
After seeing portions of the YouTube video, he tweeted, “jesus… just scrolled through. hot garbage. every time i stopped and listened, he and everything he said sounded crazy. 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.”
Wright is expected to begin filming ‘Black Panther 2’ next summer, with her character Shuri, expected to take on a substantial role following the death of Chadwick Boseman.
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