SPOILERS for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever lie ahead.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Letitia Wright has responded to the controversy surrounding anti-vax comments she made during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the end of 2020, Wright shared a video that espoused anti-vax views by a controversial pastor who has also been accused of sharing transphobic remarks. While Wright has avoided commenting on the incident throughout the press tours for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the actress has now broken her silence in an interview with The Guardian, apologizing for, and distancing herself from, the video.
“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 apologised and deleted my Twitter. I just apologised for any hurt that was caused to anybody.”
The video in question finds the presenter declaring his doubts about the Covid-19 vaccine, the origin of the virus itself, and questioning climate change and transphobic comments. At the time, Wright tweeted, “If you don’t conform to popular opinions but ask questions and think for yourself … you get cancelled.” Asked whether sharing the video was an endorsement of the views within it, Wright distanced herself further, saying:
“That’s exactly what my apology was. It was saying this is not me, and I apologise. Those are things that I am not and I apologised and I’ve moved on.”
Clearly, Wright would like to now move on from the matter, and while that is up to her fans and audiences to decide, the actress is emphatic that she does not share transphobic or anti-vax views and that the sharing of the video was not an endorsement of the material within it.
Letitia Wright’s Shuri Will Play a Major Role in the MCU Going Forward
Letitia Wright is now likely to lead the Black Panther franchise, with her character Shuri emerging as the new Black Panther in the sequel. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finds Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M'Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and forge a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sees Shuri become the main character of the Marvel series, with the character gradually coming to terms with the death of her brother and taking up the mantle of the Wakandan protector. Sporting her own vibranium suit, Shuri does not become the ruler of Wakanda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but is expected to continue on as the superhero in further installments in the MCU.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole, the film stars Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is in theaters now.