As the pandemic continues and different COVID-19 variants start to make headlines, there has been a continuous war of words between anti-vaxxers and those who are openly advocating for people to get vaccinated. It turns out, however, that there is a considerable subgroup in the anti-vaxx community that has cited the plot of I Am Legend as a significant reason why people should avoid getting vaccinated.
According to Complex, Time political correspondent Vera Bergengruen shared a screenshot of a New York Times article in which unvaccinated employees at an eyewear store in the Bronx were being interviewed about their decision to not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Surprisingly, they pointed to the Will Smith-starring film as an example of what happens when the masses consume a "bad vaccine."
Unfortunately, they didn't quite grasp the plot of I Am Legend, because in the movie, the zombie outbreak was actually caused by a devastating attempt at genetically re-engineering the measles virus in an effort to cure cancer. Apparently, this faulty theory has been going on for a while, as Will Smith jokingly addressed his role in spreading misinformation at the beginning of the pandemic last year.
Now, seemingly appalled by the deep rabbit hole that I Am Legend fans and anti-vaxxers have found themselves in, writer and producer Akiva Goldsman has responded to the absurdity of the entire situation. "Oh. My. God. It’s a movie," Goldsman tweeted out. "I made that up. It’s. Not. Real."
Regardless of whether Akiva Goldsman's zombie film makes you more or less interested in getting a COVID-19 vaccine, you should definitely go to a medical or public health authority for accurate information on vaccines. And if all of this talk about I Am Legend has you dying to watch the 2007 post-apocalyptic thriller, you can currently stream it on HBO Max.
[via]