Evangeline Lilly's Vaccine Mandate Protest Prompts Letitia Wright Comparisons

Evangeline Lilly attended a protest in support of "bodily sovereignty" in Washington D.C. over the weekend before announcing to fans that she stands in opposition to government-mandated vaccine policies—in a move that prompted comparisons to another Marvel star, Letitia Wright.

Lilly, who plays Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp in Marvel's Ant-Man, was present at the rally that featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a speaker. His comments comparing vaccination policies to the Holocaust made headlines during the week.

"I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will, under threat of violent attack, arrest or detention without trial, loss of employment, homelessness, starvation, loss of education, alienation from loved ones, ex-communication from society...under any threat whatsoever," Lilly wrote in an Instagram post.

"This is not the way," Lilly continued about vaccine mandates. "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."

It's unclear if Lilly herself has received the COVID vaccine. Newsweek has contacted a spokesperson for comment.

The 42-year-old made headlines at the start of the pandemic, back in March 2020, when she posted about refusing to social distance and quarantine.

"Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives. We all make choices," she said at the time, before later apologizing and saying: "I can see now that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation."

Lilly is due to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her role in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Newsweek has contacted Marvel for comment in relation to filming, and Lilly's stance on Disney's vaccine mandate.

The situation today has prompted comparisons with another Marvel star—Letitia Wright.

The British Black Panther star was at the center of a controversy for her reported anti-vaccine stance back in December 2020.

The Shuri actress came under fire for tweeting a video featuring anti-vaccine and anti-transgender commentary. This was followed by The Hollywood Reporter reporting that she shared anti-vax views on the set of the Black Panther sequel.

However, Wright then issued a denial on Instagram, writing: "It saddens me to have to address the reports published by the Hollywood Reporter on 6 October 2021. The report spoke about my conduct on the set of Black Panther 2. I honestly assert that this was completely untrue."

She added, per Rolling Stone: "Anyone who knows me or has worked with me, knows that I work incredibly hard at my craft & my main focus is always to do work that's impactful and inspiring. That has been & will continue to be my only focus."

Wright has since resumed filming the movie after being out of action due to a shoulder injury.

Many people have been comparing the two stars over them publicly expressing their views about the vaccine.

Another tweet reads: "First Letitia Wright, now Evangeline Lilly, if they ever end doing an A-Force film the villain is probably going to be Pfizer at this point."

Another tweet with 12,000 likes reads: "I find it funny that both Letitia Wright and Evangeline Lilly are supposed to be playing smart characters."

While writer Richard Newby added: "Evangeline Lily bout to spin-off herself right out of the MCU alongside Letitia."