Evangeline Lilly Apologizes For 'Dismissive' Coronavirus Comments
Celebrity

Evangeline Lilly Apologizes For 'Dismissive' Coronavirus Comments

Evangeline Lilly has issued an apology for her prior comments about the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, the Ant-Man and the Wasp actress incurred substantial backlash after downplaying the severity of the outbreak by equating it to a "respiratory flu" and arguing that her "freedom" was of the utmost importance — despite living with her father (who has stage four leukemia) and being immunocompromised herself.

"Just dropped my kids off at gymnastics camp. They all washed their hands before going in. They are playing and laughing," she wrote in her previous Instagram post. Lilly later added that she believes global governments are using the pandemic to "grab more power" and that "where we are right now feels a lot too close to Marshall (sic) Law for my comfort already."

Now though, the actress is returning to the platform to apologize for her previous statements, which she called "dismissive, arrogant, and cryptic."

"Despite my intense trepidation over the socioeconomic and political repercussions of this course of action, PLEASE KNOW I AM DOING MY PART TO FLATTEN THE CURVE, PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND STAYING HOME WITH MY FAMILY," she clarified, adding that she wanted to "offer my sincere and heartfelt apology for the insensitivity I showed in my previous post."

"Grandparents, parents, children, sisters and brothers are dying, the world is rallying to find a way to stop this very real threat, and my ensuing silence has sent a dismissive, arrogant and cryptic message," Lilly continued. "My direct and special apologies to those most affected by this pandemic. I never meant to hurt you."

Lilly then went on to claim that when her initial post was meant to be "infusing calm into the hysteria," though she now sees "that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation."

"I am grieved by the ongoing loss of life, and the impossible decisions medical workers around the world must make as they treat those affected," she said. "I am concerned for our communities – small businesses and families living paycheck-to-paycheck – and I am trying to follow responsible recommendations for how to help. Like many of you, I fear for the political aftermath of this pandemic, and I am praying for us all."

That said, Lilly tried to leave things on a positive note by writing that she's also been "heartened by the beauty and humanity I see so many people demonstrating toward one another in this vulnerable time."

"When I was grappling with my own fears over social distancing, one kind, wise and gracious person said to me 'do it out of love, not fear' and it helped me to realize my place in all of this," she concluded, before adding, "Sending love to all of you, even if you can't return it right now."

See Lilly's apology in full, below.

View this post on Instagram

Hello everyone. I am writing you from my home where I have been social distancing since Mar 18th – when social distancing was instituted in the small community where I am currently living. At the time of my Mar 16th post, the directives from the authorities here were that we not congregate in groups of more than 250ppl and that we wash our hands regularly, which we were doing. Two days later, those directives changed and, despite my intense trepidation over the socioeconomic and political repercussions of this course of action, PLEASE KNOW I AM DOING MY PART TO FLATTEN THE CURVE, PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAYING HOME WITH MY FAMILY. I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology for the insensitivity I showed in my previous post to the very real suffering and fear that has gripped the world through COVID19. Grandparents, parents, children, sisters and brothers are dying, the world is rallying to find a way to stop this very real threat, and my ensuing silence has sent a dismissive, arrogant and cryptic message. My direct and special apologies to those most affected by this pandemic. I never meant to hurt you. When I wrote that post 10 days ago, I thought I was infusing calm into the hysteria. I can see now that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation. I am grieved by the ongoing loss of life, and the impossible decisions medical workers around the world must make as they treat those affected. I am concerned for our communities – small businesses and families living paycheck-to-paycheck – and I am trying to follow responsible recommendations for how to help. Like many of you, I fear for the political aftermath of this pandemic, and I am praying for us all. At the same time, I am heartened by the beauty and humanity I see so many people demonstrating toward one another in this vulnerable time. When I was grappling with my own fears over social distancing, one kind, wise and gracious person said to me “do it out of love, not fear” and it helped me to realize my place in all of this. Sending love to all of you, even if you can’t return it right now. EL

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