 |
| Evangeline Lilly edit by Gladys Lopez |
Marvel's newest installment Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, premiered this past weekend. Although the film is receiving mixed reviews, leading actress Evangeline Lilly has been making headlines for other reasons. Since the pandemic began back in March 2020, actress Evangeline Lilly has had a fair share of controversy surrounding her beliefs. When the pandemic started, Lilly downplayed the deadly virus as a “respiratory flu." She faced backlash after captioning an Instagram post, "Just dropped my kids off at gymnastics camp. They all washed their hands before going in. They are playing and laughing. #businessasusual”
 |
| Instagram Post by Evangeline Lilly on March 16, 2020 |
The post was deemed insensitive and out of touch with people in the comments asking her to rethink her stance. Lilly doubled down by stating that stay-at-home orders felt "too close to Marshall Law" and that she valued her "freedom." Ultamelty, the actress, issued an apology for her actions and stated, "I didn’t expect anyone to pay attention to it, because no one ever pays attention to what I post." During an interview, she reflected on her actions and spoke about what went through her mind prior to apologizing "I ended up having enough people say to me, ‘Well, there’s a lot of people who are dying right now, and it might have been really insensitive to what they’re going through,’ and that resonated for me.”
However, Lilly's COVID-19 controversy did not end there. Two years later, on January 27, 2022, she posted on Instagram that she had attended an anti-vaccine protest in Washington, DC. Lilly explained in her caption that she attended the rally in support of "bodily sovereignty" and that she believes "nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will." She ended her lengthy caption by saying, "I was pro choice before COVID and I am still pro choice today."
 |
| Instagram Post by Evangeline Lilly on January 27,2022 |
Lilly's attendance and vocal support of the Canadian Freedom Convoy was met with support and opposition. However, despite the controversy, the story eventually died down until this past weekend. Lilly addressed the controversy surrounding her attendance for the first time during an Esquire interview. Lilly acknowledges that she understood her attendance would come with consequences. She told the interviewer, "I know the beast that I’m attacking, I know that I have a little pebble and there's this f--ing Goliath giant. If I shoot this pebble, it's going to wake the giant.” She asked herself "six hundred times" whether to share the rally photos on social media. In the end, she chose to do so because she "wanted people out there who were struggling because they were under severe pressure to do something they didn't want to do to know that they weren't alone, to know that there were people who actually felt they had a right to say no.” Lilly's recent statements addressing the backlash have made headlines as she is not the only Marvel star to spread anti-vax rhetoric. In December 2020, Black Panther star Letitia Wright received criticism after sharing a YouTube video on Twitter that raised doubts about the safety of vaccines, including the ingredients of the COVID-19 vaccine. Evangeline Lilly is one of many celebrities who understands the power their celebrity status awards them. She used her Instagram account to spread her political beliefs to over 2 million followers. Lilly used her platform to spread potentially divisive messages of government overreach and anti-vaccine mandates rhetoric.
Image Sources:
(@evangelinelillyofficial), Evangeline Lilly. 2020. “#morningtea ☕️.” Instagram. March 16, 2020. https://www.instagram.com/p/B9zT034AEBi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
———. 2022. “I Was in DC This Weekend to Support Bodily Sovereignty While Canadian Truckers Were Rallying for Their Cross-Country, Peaceful Convoy in Support of the Same Thing.” Instagram. January 27, 2022. https://www.instagram.com/p/CZPQ4hlLFCl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
Madani, Doha. 2022. “Marvel Actor Evangeline Lilly Shares That She Attended Anti-Vaccine Mandate Rally.” NBC News. January 27, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/marvel-actor-evangeline-lilly-shares-attended-anti-vaccine-mandate-ral-rcna13872.
Ryssdal, Kai. 2020. “Capitol Hill Is Still Overwhelmingly White.” Marketplace. December 1, 2020. https://www.marketplace.org/2020/12/01/capitol-hill-is-still-overwhelmingly-white/.
Stewart, Ashleigh. Last Updated: September 4 2021. “Medical Groups Denounce Bullying, Attacks on Health-Care Workers as Protests Target Hospitals.” CBC News, Last Updated: September 4 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/anti-vaccine-protests-health-workers-toronto-1.6164215.
I would like to believe that she truly didn't know the impact that she might have had on people by posting her beliefs. Yes everyone is free to do whatever they believe, but sometimes your actions have consequences. She knew she had a large following and in some fandoms they would do anything their celebrity tells them to do. It also seems to me that she is just uneducated about the vaccine and covid in general and she refuses to seek any further learning. Yes, we have freedom of speech but we should not abuse the power given to us to spread lies and misinformation. She could be pro-choice but she is most definitely anti-vax.
ReplyDeleteI understand her point that everyone should maintain bodily autonomy, but being unvaccinated takes that autonomy away from many others. I think that celebrities are so out of touch with the rest of society that they influence others in ways that are not appropriate for their environments; and, unfortunately, people are so naive to think that they live lives similarly enough to celebrities that they can emulate their lifestyles.
ReplyDeleteHello Madison I thought your post covers a really interesting subject. Its interesting to see people who are usually on the left or the right step over the line to agree with people from a different party. I have seen this a lot recreantly with younger conservatives supporting legalization of weed. And some people who are on the left supporting gun rights. Its very interesting and I just think it shows that both parties can build bridge and focus on issues most Americans agree on.
ReplyDeleteHi Madison! I appreciate your post this week. Anti vaxxers are a not a slay, especially those who have large followings and a bigger opportunity to influence. She is free to believe what she wants, but the constant ignoring of scientific fact and research is exhausting and harmful. If she has an audience that is constantly listening to her and following her moves, the smarter idea would be to not come close to the topic at all and stay completely neutral.
ReplyDelete