Marvel star Evangeline Lilly protests COVID-19 vaccine mandates: 'I am still pro choice'

• Evangeline Lilly is speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine mandates on social media.
• ​​​​​​​The “Ant-Man and the Wasp” star shared she attended a protest “to support bodily sovereignty” over the weekend.
• “This is not the way,” the Marvel star wrote. “This is not love.”
• In March 2020, Lilly sparked controversy when she downplayed COVID-19 as both a “respiratory flu” and a possible political ploy.

Evangeline Lilly is speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, revealing that she attended a protest “to support bodily sovereignty” over the weekend.

The “Ant-Man and the Wasp” star, 42, took to Instagram Thursday to share images from the protest outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., including shots of signs that read “Vaxxed Democrat for Medical Freedom,” “Nurses for Vaxx Choice” and “Feds for Medical Freedom.”

“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, excommunication from society…under any threat whatsoever,” Lilly wrote in the caption.

The actress also referenced Canadian truckers who are protesting a new requirement that truckers entering Canada be fully immunized as of Jan. 15.

“This is not the way. This is not safe. This is not healthy. This is not love,” Lilly continued. “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.”

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Lilly and Disney for further comment.

Lilly is not the first Marvel star speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

“Black Panther” star Letitia Wright, 28, landed in hot water in December 2020 after sharing a video on her Twitter account questioning whether people should get vaccinated against COVID-19. A day later, the hour-long video was removed.

‘Black Panther’ star Letitia Wright tweets controversial vaccine video, says she’s being canceled

Wright later tweeted a statement about the backlash.

“if you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled,” she wrote with a laughing emoji.

According to IMDb, Wright is currently filming the “Black Panther” sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and Lilly’s latest Marvel film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” is currently in post-production. Disney houses the Marvel Cinematic Universe and, in mid-October, started requiring visible proof of COVID-19 vaccination on all its new productions as part of a return-to-work agreement between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and Hollywood’s unions, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Evangeline Lilly apologizes after refusing to self-quarantine amid coronavirus pandemic

At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Lilly sparked controversy when she downplayed COVID-19 as both a “respiratory flu” and a possible political ploy on Instagram. Despite calls to practice social distancing, Lilly said her household, which includes her cancer-stricken father, would continue its normal routine.

She apologized and walked back her comments later that month.

“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 wrote on Instagram. “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.”

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Contributing: Cydney Henderson, Sara M Moniuszko, USA TODAY; Associated Press