“Black Panther” Actor Letitia Wright Called Out By Don Cheadle For “Hot Garbage” Anti-Vaxx Video

December 4, 2020, 10:39 am

Letitia Wright, best known to American audiences for her portrayal of Shuri in Black Panther and two Avengers movies, tweeted and then deleted a video that calls COVID-19 vaccines into question.

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On Thursday night, according to Variety, Wright tweeted a 69-minute video from YouTube channel ‘On The Table.’ The video features lengthy commentary from Tomi Arayomi, a senior leader with Light London Church.

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In the video, Arayomi questions COVID-19 vaccination, as well as displaying appears climate change skepticism, accusing China of spreading COVID-19, and making comments which could be construed as transphobic.

Though the tweet has since been deleted, and though YouTube has removed the video for “violating YouTube’s terms of service,” the Internet is forever, and Variety included a screenshot of Wright’s initial tweet, which was just the praying hands emoji with the link to the video.

After taking down the tweet, Wright posted two more tweets referring back to the original.

The first not-so-cryptically said, on Thursday night, “If you don’t conform to popular opinions, but ask questions and think for yourself … you get cancelled.”

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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

The second, more direct address of the situation, on Friday, noted, “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.”

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

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The controversy also ensnared actor Don Cheadle, who checked in on the video and described it as “hot garbage,” adding that Arayomi’s views appeared “crazy and fkkkd up” to him.

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. but i still won’t throw her away over it. the rest i’ll take off twitter. had no idea. https://t.co/7uDlP1xwDL

— Don “bruh, you lost” Cheadle (@DonCheadle) December 4, 2020

A number of people responded directly to Wright on Twitter.

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One directly addressed Wright, saying she has to “understand the platform you have & the responsibility that comes with having such a platform,” expressing concern over both the vaccine misinformation and the transphobic comments in the video.

You have to understand the platform you have & the responsibility that comes with having such a platform.

The video not only has several things disproven by easy googling, misrepresentation of common chemicals, but is also transphobic.

Thats what you shared while tripling down.

— Hanna Marie, M.A. (@tinysapien) December 4, 2020

Another reassured Wright that this wasn’t about “cancelling” her, but educating her, finishing by saying, “You always good in my hood.”

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People who know and love you don’t cancel you, they wrestle with you. You always good in my hood.

— Lecrae (@lecrae) December 4, 2020

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*First Published: December 4, 2020, 10:39 am