Letitia Wright, the Black Panther star who last year faced backlash for sharing an anti-vaccine video, has reportedly continued to espouse these views on the set of the new sequel.
A Wednesday report in The Hollywood Reporter describes the way Hollywood has been more divided than one might expect over COVID-19 vaccination, with some productions descending into "chaos" due to infections among unvaccinated actors. Wright is one actor who has publicly expressed skepticism over COVID-19 vaccines. "A set source says she has espoused similar views about the COVID-19 vaccines on the Atlanta production" of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Reporter writes.
Wright plays Shuri, the sister of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, in Black Panther, and fans have speculated she could become the next Black Panther after Boseman's death. In 2020, she tweeted an anti-vaccine video that was later removed from YouTube, which featured a speaker questioning COVID-19 vaccination. After facing backlash, Wright initially complained that "you get cancelled" if "you don't conform to popular opinions." But she subsequently deleted the tweet, saying her "intention was not to hurt anyone" and that she only wanted to raise "concerns with what the vaccine contains." Wright later left Twitter entirely, and the Reporter says she also parted ways with her entire team of U.S. representatives.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Reporter notes that no universal vaccine mandate has been implemented across the film and television industry, leading to some instances in which high-profile unvaccinated actors' positive COVID-19 tests have led to production shutdowns. Black-ish star Anthony Anderson told the Reporter it's "not my place to police anyone" on getting vaccinated, while George Clooney said it's "crazy" and "stupid" that some in the industry won't get their shot. The Mandalorian star Giancarlo Esposito, meanwhile, urged those who aren't vaccinated to go "to a small island and sequester yourself."
-
How China is battling the chikungunya virusUnder The Radar Thousands of cases of the debilitating disease have been found in the country
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chopsFeature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
Book reviews: 'Face With Tears of Joy: A Natural History of Emoji' and 'Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story'Feature The surprising history of emojis and the brother duo who changed pop music
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
