Letitia Wright Sharing Anti-Vax Views On Black Panther 2 Set

Letitia Wright won't stop talking about her anti-vaccination views on the Black Panther 2 set.

By Tyler Pisapia | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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British and Guyanese actress Letitia Wright is reportedly not done spouting anti-vaccination theories. She’s just not doing it as publicly. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Letitia Wright is hard at work reprising her role as the fan-favorite Princess of Wakanda and all-around technology genius Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, as her fellow cast and crew take precautions on the Atlanta, Georgia set to ensure that the film doesn’t get shut down due to a COVID-19 outbreak, she is reportedly espousing anti-vaccination views, according to a source on the set. 

The outlet also notes that Letitia Wright believes in her anti-vaccination cause so much that she parted ways with her entire U.S. team or representatives in the wake of immense backlash she received for posting an anti-vaccine propaganda video last December. Without comment beyond a praying hands emoji, the actress shared the 69-minute video on Twitter that Variety reports came from Tomi Arayomi, a senior leader with Light London Church in which he questions the legitimacy of the vaccines and also airs grievances about China spreading the virus, climate change and makes transphobic remarks. 

Letitia Wright, who gained a bevy of young female fans who fell in love with Shuri when she debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2018 shared a video that made the incredibly pseudo-intellectual point that people don’t want to question the science behind things like climate change and the vaccines, but will ignore science when it comes to gender identity, which is very much not the same. 

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That probably helped YouTube make up its mind to pull the video from its platform for violating its terms of service. Letitia Wright eventually removed the tweet and issued a half-hearted mea culpa stating that her only intention was to raise concerns she has about the vaccine, not to hurt anyone. Still, there were those who made the point that promoting vaccine hesitancy, especially by way of misinformation like Arayomi’s video, is a bad enough offense for a role model without the intention being to hurt anyone. 

Showing no remorse, Letitia Wright noted at the time that she feels she’s being punished and getting “canceled” for not conforming to “popular opinions” on the scientifically proven vaccine. That’s apparently an attitude she continues to have, only this time she’s plaguing (pun intended) her Black Panther: Wakanda Forever co-stars with her views on the matter. 

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Disney will soon roll out a sticker system on all of its new productions in mid-October that will allow people on set to have visual proof of vaccination so that people can more easily steer clear of people like Letitia Wright who clearly aren’t on board with getting the jab. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to apply to productions that are already in progress. The move is part of a return-to-work agreement between AMPTP and Hollywood’s unions.

The move comes amid a difficult-enough shoot. The Black Panther franchise is forging ahead without the man who brought King T’Challa to life in Captain America: Civil War, Chadwick Boseman. The actor died at age 43 in August of 2020 after a private battle with cancer. Now the franchise is hoping to turn to characters like Letitia Wright’s Shuri to keep the franchise alive, provided she does the same with her cohorts on set.