'Black Panther' star Letitia Wright slams article that mentioned her vaccine controversy alongside 'men who have been accused of abuse' and misconduct
- "Black Panther" star Letitia Wright criticized The Hollywood Reporter's latest article about her.
- The article appeared to compare her posting a conspiracy video to celebrities charged with assault.
"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" star Letitia Wright has called out The Hollywood Reporter for publishing an article that appeared to group her with "men who have been accused of abuse & sexual misconduct."
On Monday, the publication published an article about how "personal controversy" surrounding Wright, Will Smith, and Brad Pitt may affect their Oscar chances this award season. The article appeared to compare the three actors' awards chances with awards and nominations given to other directors and actors who have been accused of, or charged with, physical or sexual abuse.
Wright, who, in 2020, retweeted an anti-COVID vaccination conspiracy video, spoke out on her Instagram Story, tagging both THR and its executive editor Scott Feinberg, who wrote the piece.
"I had to unblock @hollywoodreporter just to post this. Scott Feinberg and all at this publication. You're all incredibly disrespectful," Wright wrote in her first post. "How dare you. You mentioned my name alongside men who have been accused of abuse & sexual misconduct. This is vile behavior. At this point a personal vendetta towards me."
The THR article also mentioned reports that Wright had shared her views on vaccinations on set, which the actor addressed in her post.
Wright said: "I've done nothing wrong but respectfully refused to do interviews with this publication. Stop your nonsense. I apologized TWO years ago. Remained silent on the topic. You lied and said I continued talking about it with my cast & crew on my set. THIS WAS NOT TRUE. ASK MY PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR. Your agenda towards me is now even more clear. I won't remain silent. Stop your disgusting behavior."
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Wright addressed the anti-vax scandal for the first time since 2020 and said that she had apologized and "moved on" from the controversy.
In 2020, after fans saw that she had retweeted the video and criticized her, Wright stated that she was just asking questions before saying her intention "was not to hurt anyone." She later deactivated her Twitter and Instagram accounts.
"I feel it's something I experienced two years ago and I have in a healthy way moved on," Wright told the Guardian. "And in a healthy way, I've apologized and deleted my Twitter. I just apologized for any hurt that was caused to anybody."
In Wright's second Instagram Story on Monday, the Marvel star addressed Feinberg directly.
"This personal agenda with your friends at @hollywoodreporter is disgusting," the actor wrote. "I've remained silent as the world told me to kill myself two years ago for a video I posted and apologized for. I kept my head down and focused on my craft. And now I'm at the other side of it. Here you are, as a so called journalist we are meant to trust, putting my name into this nasty article for what?"
Wright concluded the post by speaking about the success of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," writing: "I worked my ass off with my cast and crew to dedicate it to my Brother. How dare you."
A spokesperson for The Hollywood Reporter said in a statement to Insider: "I sincerely appreciate the feedback and dialogue surrounding this column. While the intent was not to equate Letitia Wright's situation with others mentioned in the article and we underscored that in the story (which was assigned to Scott), we also understand that some saw this in a different way. We have featured Letitia on our cover and cited her great talent in reviews and look forward to continuing to chronicle her career."
Editor's note [11/22/22 1:30 PM ET]: This article has been updated to include a statement from The Hollywood Reporter.