Black Panther’s Letitia Wright might have earned universal accolades as a star of one of the most successful Marvel blockbusters in recent history, but the 27-year-old Guyanese-British actress didn’t make many new fans Thursday (Dec. 3) when she shared a controversial video. In fact, she may have lost some.
On Twitter, Wright, who plays Shuri, the tech-savvy sister of T’Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman), posted a video from an anti-vaxxer questioning the safety of the soon-to-be-released COVID-19 vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will have a “first supply…available before the end of 2020.”
After her tweet, Wright then began to spread doubt about whether people should get the vaccine and not “conform to popular opinions.” As her fans confronted her online, Wright doubled down and continued to push conspiracy theories that have been debunked by countless scientists and medical experts.
Criticism of Wright’s tweets was condemned quickly by followers like Roxane Gay, New York Times contributing writer and author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She commented back to the Hollywood star after she said people should “ask questions and think for yourself.”
“Thinking for yourself doesn’t mean you’re right,” Gay wrote. “And you aren’t cancelled. But damn. Promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and shrouding it in intellectual curiosity is asinine. And dangerous.”
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
Other followers weren’t as diplomatic, calling her everything from having a “room temperature IQ” to pointing out how “ironic” it is that she was “cast as the smartest person in the [Marvel Cinematic Universe].”
You. Moaning and groaning about a make believe “canceling” when you could easily do research yourself. You don’t care to engage with any critical thinking nor did you acknowledge any other part of my tweet. You being casted as the smartest person in the MCU is so ironic.
— isa (@moisturizeds) December 4, 2020
Early this morning (Dec. 4), Wright tried to clean up some of the mess she made the day before by Tweeting that her “intention was not to hurt anyone.”
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
No word yet on whether her character Shuri is developing her own COVID-19 serum back at her tech lab in Wakanda. Maybe if the vaccine was administered via a Sonic Spear she might feel more convinced.