Marvel star Evangeline Lilly attended anti-vaccine-mandate rally in Washington to support ‘bodily sovereignty’

Actress Evangeline Lilly has expressed skepticism about pandemic control measures. (Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)

Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly — known for her role on the TV series “Lost” and as the Wasp in Marvel’s films — said she went to an anti-vaccine-mandate rally in D.C. last weekend to support “bodily sovereignty.”

The demonstration, which took place on the National Mall, appeared to be the same event where political scion and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. referenced Anne Frank in a speech to imply that Jews had more freedoms during the Holocaust than unvaccinated Americans do today. (Kennedy later apologized after he was widely rebuked, including by the Auschwitz Memorial.)

Lilly explained her attendance at the rally using rhetoric that echoed that of abortion rights activists. She posted pictures on her Instagram account that depicted protesters near the Lincoln Memorial holding up signs that read “Vaxxed Democrat for medical freedom” and “Nurses for vaxx-choice.” She wrote in the caption that “nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will” or under threat.

It is not clear whether Lilly was present during Kennedy’s speech. Her publicist did not immediately respond to request for comment late Thursday.

Disney, which owns Marvel, had previously said it would require employees to be vaccinated. But it suspended its mandate for Florida-based employees after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed legislation in November restricting such mandates for employers. The company did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In her Instagram post, Lilly said her attendance at the rally was in support of Canadian truckers who are planning a cross-country protest against vaccine mandates for drivers who move goods across the U.S.-Canada border. The so-called Freedom Convoy was organized by Canada Unity, a group that opposes pandemic control measures such as masking and vaccinations.

But federal authorities and the Canadian Trucking Alliance have pushed back, writing in a joint statement that vaccination “is the most effective tool to reduce the risk” posed by covid-19.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said the protesters were a “small fringe minority” and that most Canadians have done “the right thing” and gotten vaccinated. More than 77 percent of Canadians have been fully immunized.

This is not the first time Lilly has been criticized for her views on public health. In March 2020, she apologized for being insensitive after writing on an Instagram post “#businessasusual” and resisting calls to stay at home during the early days of the pandemic. At the time, she was also living with her father, who was battling Stage 4 leukemia.