For liking an Instagram post that connects to COVID-19 vaccine safety, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Sasha Banks is now under fire.
The screen-capped posts that made Banks trend online and sparked criticism of the actress being a so-called “anti-vaxxer” are not entirely clear.
Twitter user @tayredacted posted two photos of images Banks supposedly “liked” from Instagram that were posted in May. One image suggests the COVID-19 vaccine is meant to sterilize the masses, and the other reads, “COVID Jab: They skipped all animal trails because all animals were dying & went directly to people.”
Reuters previously reported that:
There is no evidence the vaccines cause infertility, posts claiming that COVID-19 vaccine producers skipped animal trials due to the animals in those trials dying are false. Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, which have been granted emergency authorization use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, all conducted animal trials and had no significant safety concerns to report.
The images come from the same post, however, and they come after you scroll past numerous other photos in the post. In other words, Banks could have “liked” the first photo, which is a mild meme mocking lockdown measures, and not even seen the other posts about the vaccine. See the front image, below:
Despite not receiving any confirmation yet, Twitter users blasted Banks and the backlash followed. His caption read:
“Who cares about her politics?” “She’s just asking questions” “We don’t know if she actually believes this” Got your top 3 excuses out of the way for you, stans, time to come up with something new!
Below are some headlines made after the post was liked by Banks:
WWE Star Sasha Banks Accused of Being an Anti-Vaxxer
The Mandalorian’s Sasha Banks Under Fire For Anti-Vax Controversy
The Mandalorian Star Sasha Banks is Getting Canceled over Anti-Vax Controversy
News site meaww ran with the backlash, too. “Is Sasha Banks an ‘anti-vaxxer’? WWE icon canceled ahead of SummerSlam 2021 comeback,” the site’s headline reads. Here’s a portion of the post:
Wrestling star Sasha Banks seems to have landed in serious controversy amid a professional hiatus. The 29-year-old WWE icon, who retreated from the ring for a while after her devastating loss against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 2021, was ‘canceled’ by a legion of disappointed fans on Twitter. Banks was apparently spotted liking anti-vaccination content on Instagram, prompting people to immediately brand her as an ‘anti-vaxxer’.
While the WWE star is yet to issue any formal statement on the matter, she was lambasted all over social media by furious fans. Her anti-vaxxer stance sparked severe criticism, especially at a time when the world is grappling with a raging pandemic. Meanwhile, there was also a section of Twitter users who came to her defense, arguing that she should be spared from the cancel culture.
“Mandalorian” actress Gina Carano was also fired by Lucasfilm this year after Carano publicly voiced conservative views on social media.
Lucasfilm spokesperson said in a statement:
Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.
Sources: Daily Wire, Reuters, CNN
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