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Topics: Black Panther, LGBTQ, Coronavirus, Film and TV, Celebrity
Daisy Phillipson
Topics: Black Panther, LGBTQ, Coronavirus, Film and TV, Celebrity
Letitia Wright has maintained that she is not a 'transphobic, homophobic anti-vaxxer' after being asked directly about the past controversy.
The 29-year-old actor opened up in a new interview amid the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in which she reprised her role as Shuri.
To refresh your memory, a couple of years back in the height of the pandemic, Wright shared an anti-vax video which also contained transphobic comments.
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What's more, the video was by Tomi Arayomi, a pastor and YouTuber who has previously suggested LGBTQ+ people are 'invading the church' and used the term 'hell children' to describe people who go to Pride.
Wright initially defended posting the video, telling her followers: "If you don’t conform to popular opinions but ask questions and think for yourself… you get cancelled."
She then later apologised for sharing the film before deleting her Twitter account.
In a now-deleted tweet, she wrote: "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."
While sitting down with the Aisha star to discuss her background and acting career, The Guardian's Simon Hattenstone decided to ask her about the incident and whether she feared getting cancelled at the time.
"I feel it’s something I experienced two years ago and I have in a healthy way moved on," she explained.
"And in a healthy way I’ve apologised and deleted my Twitter. I just apologised for any hurt that was caused to anybody."
When questioned about whether or not the post was a misrepresentation of her values, Wright replied: "That’s exactly what my apology was.
"It was saying this is not me, and I apologise."
But Hattenstone probed further, saying that fans might have assumed by sharing the film that she's a 'transphobic, homophobic anti-vaxxer'.
The actor went on to say: "Those are things that I am not and I apologised and I’ve moved on."
Elsewhere in the interview, Wright opened up about the tragic passing of her friend and Black Panther brother Chadwick Boseman.
"I was devastated, as you can imagine. I’ve had to process it through therapy," she said.
"It’s not like I had a two-year break to process it and then came back into the film. We had to start six months after Chad died."
The star also discussed becoming a Christian, saying that her life has been transformed since finding religion.
"It gave me the centring I needed, the good foundation I needed, and it helped me to put in perspective what was important for me," she explained.
"Chasing something that is not tangible or not wholesome is not the way I want to go.
"If I was to pack all this up I’d still be happy with my faith, the contentment I feel and the connection to God."