Shuri actress Letitia Wright addressed a controversial anti-vaccine, transphobic, and homophobic-related social media post she shared shortly before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever started filming.
Amidst the production of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and even the months leading up to it, Wright reportedly caused plenty of problems for Marvel Studios. Not only did she, unfortunately, suffer a major injury during filming, but she also became known as an anti-vaxxer in the heat of the pandemic.
At the tail end of 2020, long before the sequel eventually got in front of cameras in June 2021, Wright entered a swarm of controversy after sharing a video of a divisive pastor that was filled with anti-vax, transphobic, and homophobic remarks, spurring viral backlash.
This led to the Black Panther star deleting her Twitter account just one day later, having shared “If you don’t conform to popular opinions but ask questions and think for yourself … you get cancelled.” Reports later surfaced that the actress was spreading these anti-vax sentiments on the set of Wakanda Forever as she herself refused to take the vaccine.
The controversy even got to a point where some insiders were reporting Marvel Studios had "changed the ending" of Black Panther 2 due to the issues surrounding Wright. Although weeks later the latest news was indicating these problems had been resolved, and clearly that all paid off as, with the sequel now playing in theatres, Wright's Shuri is the new Black Panther.
But, naturally, many are still wondering what exactly happened with the actress and the reasons behind her famous controversial tweet. Well, she has now touched on that during the Wakanda Forever press tour.
Black Panther Stars Addresses Her Twitter Controversy
Speaking to The Guardian, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress Letitia Wright was asked if she felt she was in danger of being cancelled at the time, to which she revealed that, "in a healthy way," she feels she has "moved on," having "apologized for any hurt" she caused and having deleted her account on the platform:
“I feel it’s something I experienced two years ago and I have in a healthy way moved on. And in a healthy way I’ve apologized and deleted my Twitter. I just apologized for any hurt that was caused to anybody.”
The actress added that her apology was intended to say "this is not me, and I apologize," as she felt the video did not represent her values. Commenting on how some followers may have assumed her to be transphobic, homophobic, or anti-tax based on the video, Wright said "those are things that [she is] not:"
“Those are things that I am not and I apologized and I’ve moved on.
Asked outright whether she has been vaccinated, the Shuri actress reiterated how she has apologized and called for the "next question:
“I have apologized and I have moved on. Next question. Thanks.”
Letitia Wright Tip Toes Around Controversy Questions
Wright has previously been eager to avoid discussing her anti-vax controversy, with her publicist pushing a Variety interviewer to move away from the question during the Wakanda Forever press tour. "Schedule changes" later prevented the actress from answering email questions on the topic, despite having promised she would.
This latest interview only represents further avoidance of this topic as she continues to reaffirm her previous apology and insists that those controversial beliefs are not ones she supports. But that only leaves the question of why the actress would have shared the hateful video in the first place.
Unfortunately, that will likely never be explained as Wright is clearly pushing for the public to move on from the topic, despite her having never properly addressed the issue. She does have a history of strange social media activity, having once liked tweets calling to “cancel Black Panther 2 immediately.”
As Disney opted not to meet with Wright at the time to instead let matters blow over, perhaps the actress is now eager to prevent a resurgence. After all, if the controversy were to come back to the forefront of the public eye, Disney may be forced to act in some form, which she would obviously want to avoid.
Having just become the face of the Black Panther franchise, the actress clearly has a bright future ahead at the House of Mouse. Not only could this include a long tenure at Marvel Studios in the Wakandan and Avengers franchises, but also any of the other Disney-owned brands.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is playing now in theatres worldwide.
