Letitia Wright Criticized for Sharing Anti-Vaccination Video: 'My Intention Was Not to Hurt Anyone'
Dave Benett/Getty Images Letitia Wright
Letitia Wright is defending herself after coming under fire for sharing an anti-vaccination video on Twitter.
On Thursday, the 27-year-old Black Panther actress retweeted a video from the YouTube channel On The Table, which expressed anti-vaccination viewpoints. In the hour-long clip, host Tomi Arayomi voiced unsubstantiated claims about the dangers of taking COVID-19 vaccines.
Following her tweet of the video, which Wright has since deleted, many on social media took issue with her post. "This is a frustratingly irresponsible use of a platform," one user tweeted as another added, "That was filled with hyperbole and zero evidence for his hot takes."
Responding to the discourse surrounding her post, Wright tweeted, "if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself....you get cancelled [sic] 😂."
In a follow-up tweet, Wright tweeted, "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."
A representative for Wright did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
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if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself....you get cancelled 😂
— Letitia Wright (@letitiawright) December 4, 2020
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
Alongside her two posts, Wright replied to a slew of fans who criticized her for sharing the video.
As one user wrote, "Everyone can have an opinion, but if you want your opinion to raise awareness you have to be properly backed up," Wright responded, "Totally respect what you are saying here. I’ve also heard from medically qualified doctors who got their articles and videos taken down. Am I still wrong to question whats going on?"
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In another conversation, Wright also defended herself and said she believed she had the right to question what was inside the potential vaccine.
"erm no. I repeat, I took away from it - the right to think about what’s inside of it," she replied to another. "That’s all."
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Vincent Kalut / Photonews via Getty Images Coronavirus Vaccine Pfizer
Elsewhere on Twitter, Wright's Marvel co-star Don Cheadle also chimed in and responded to her claims after fans repeatedly called on him to share his opinion.
First, in a now-deleted tweet, Cheadle, 56, spoke up in defense of the Guyanese-British actress, per Entertainment Weekly, before he detailed that he had not seen the controversial video and would "pull her coat if it's off."
Then, after watching the clip, he shared another statement about the video Wright posted. "Jesus... just scrolled through. hot garbage. every time i stopped and listened, he and everything he said sounded crazy and fkkkd up. i would never defend anybody posting this," he said.
"but i still won't throw her away over it," he added. "the rest i'll take off twitter. had no idea."
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Earlier this week, the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, with doses of the Pfizer vaccine planned to be distributed as soon as next week.
On Wednesday, the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted a temporary authorization for emergency use to the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The same vaccine has been submitted for emergency approval by the FDA in the United States and is still under review.
Multiple large-scale studies have found that vaccines are safe. There is no scientific link between vaccines and autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
