Letitia Wright quits social media after sharing transphobic anti-vax conspiracy video
Letitia Wright at the premiere of Mangrove, part of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series. (Getty)
Letitia Wright has deleted her Twitter account amid criticism over her sharing a transphobic anti-vax video.
The Black Panther star attracted a backlash last week after sharing a video that questioned whether the COVID-19 vaccine would make people “make extra limbs grow”.
After Wright posted a link to the hour-long video to Twitter, followers soon flagged that as well as its anti-vax content, it was also riddled with transphobia, with host Tomi Arayomi saying he “technically, biologically” doesn’t “believe” in trans identities.
So did you see this portion of the video and still think it was a wise idea to share this video. pic.twitter.com/YuwJ96JT3o
— Stern Ritter "B" (@803BG) December 4, 2020
It isn’t clear whether Wright had watched the full video and its transphobic rants. However, she refused to back down in the face of criticism.
“Please note I never said anything,” Wright tweeted on 4 December. “I simply posted a video and I think his point of asking about it before is valid.”
“If you don’t conform to popular opinions, but ask questions and think for yourself…you get cancelled.”
Wright has since deleted her account on the social media site, after tweeting: “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.”
She has also disappeared from Instagram.
The actor, who was recently tipped for awards success for her part in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, had been criticised by figures including writer and professor Roxane Gay, who wrote: “Thinking for yourself doesn’t mean you’re right. And you aren’t cancelled. But damn. Promoting anti-vaccine propaganda and shrouding it in intellectual curiosity is asinine. And dangerous.”
https://twitter.com/rgay/status/1334754627976388609
Proud trans ally and Wright’s fellow Marvel star Don Cheadle weighed in, saying he would “never defend anybody posting this”, but wouldn’t “throw her away over it”.
“The rest I’ll take off Twitter,” he added.
https://twitter.com/DonCheadle/status/1334736415884656641
PinkNews has contacted Letitia Wright’s representatives for comment.
