Marvel actor Evangeline Lilly protests vaccine mandates
Jan 28, 2022
Washington [US], January 28 : Actor Evangeline Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has confirmed her attendance at a Washington DC protest over the weekend in support of "bodily sovereignty."
She took to her Instagram handle and went on to explain that she stands in opposition to government-mandated vaccine policies.
Lily wrote, "I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will, under threat of violent attack, arrest or detention without trial, loss of employment, homelessness, starvation, loss of education, alienation from loved ones, excommunication from society...under any threat whatsoever."
Talking about vaccine mandates, she added, "This is not the way. This is not safe. This is not healthy. This is not love. I understand the world is in fear, but I don't believe that answering fear with force will fix our problems. I was pro-choice before COVID and I am still pro-choice today."
At the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, Lilly made headlines after she posted about refusing to social distance and quarantine, adding, "Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives. We all make choices." The actor faced backlash and eventually apologized.
In a statement, she wrote, "My direct and special apologies to those most affected by this pandemic. I never meant to hurt you. When I wrote that post 10 days ago, I thought I was infusing calm into the hysteria. I can see now that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation."
As per Variety, Lilly is set to return to the MCU with a role in the upcoming 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania', which is slated for a 2023 release.
