Marvel actress Evangeline Lilly spoke out about attending an anti-vaccine mandate rally in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.
The Ant-Man star, who has previously apologized for her "arrogant" COVID-19 beliefs, took to Instagram on Thursday, Jan. 27, to share photos from the protest. According to Lilly, she was at the rally "to support bodily sovereignty."
"I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will," she began in the caption, before listing what she maintains are consequences to not getting the vaccine, including "violent attacks," loss of employment and education, "alienation from loved ones" and "excommunication from society."
She continued, "This is not the way. 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."
Lilly, who shares two children with The Hobbit actor Norman Kali, added, "I was pro choice before COVID and I am still pro choice today," along with the hashtag #medicalfreedom.
At the start of the pandemic in 2020, the Lost actress faced backlash after telling her followers that she believed COVID-19 was similar to the flu. About a week later, she clarified that she was practicing social distancing and trying to do her "part."
"I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology for the insensitivity I showed in my previous post to the very real suffering and fear that has gripped the world through COVID19," Lilly, 42, wrote in March 2020. "Grandparents, parents, children, sisters and brothers are dying, the world is rallying to find a way to stop this very real threat, and my ensuing silence has sent a dismissive, arrogant and cryptic message."
So far, more than 870,000 people have died from the novel coronavirus in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that a recent surge of cases from the Omicron variant has led to an increased importance for vaccines and booster shots.