Ant-Man star Evangeline Lilly has publicly condemned coronavirus vaccine mandates after attending a rally supporting 'bodily sovereignty' last week.
The actor, who appeared as Hope van Dyne, or Wasp, in the Marvel movie, took to Instagram on Thursday, January 27 to share images from the demonstration, which took place in Washington, DC.
Signs reading 'defeat the mandates' and 'feds for medical freedom' could be seen on display at the event, during which leading anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr compared vaccine mandates to the kind of experiences had during life under the Nazis.
Alongside the images, Lilly said she went to the rally to 'support bodily sovereignty while Canadian truckers were rallying for their cross-country, peaceful convoy in support of the same thing'.
The actor expressed belief that nobody 'should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will', and claimed, without offering any supporting information, that mandates came with a range of consequences, including 'violent attack, arrest or detention without trial, loss of employment, homelessness, starvation, loss of education, alienation from loved ones [and] excommunication from society'.
Vaccinations have repeatedly been emphasised by experts as the safest way to avoid the risk of hospitalisation from coronavirus, with the CDC assuring they are 'safe and effective' and that 'millions of people in the United States have received COVID-19 vaccines under the most intense safety monitoring in US history'.
In a bid to help prevent serious illness caused by coronavirus, many businesses have established vaccine mandates that prevent unvaccinated people from using their services. President Joe Biden has called on business leaders to 'institute vaccination requirements to protect their workers, customers, and communities', though Lilly argued in her post that mandates are 'not the way'.
She continued, '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.'
Lilly's beliefs about mandates have come to light after the actor received backlash in 2020 for announcing she had no intention of self-isolating during the pandemic, claiming she valued her 'freedom'. She later apologised for her 'arrogant, dismissive and cryptic' comments, saying they came from a place of fear and that she was doing her part to help prevent the spread of the virus.
If you’ve been affected by coronavirus and want up to date advice, visit the Gov.uk help page here. If you need medical help call NHS 111 or visit online.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Marvel, Coronavirus, Washington
Emily Brown