Liam Neeson has claimed he is “not anti-vaccination” after narrating the controversial documentary Plague of Corruption.
The film was released online last month but has been removed by several social media sites for violating policies regarding health information. Clips posted online promoted discredited theories, such as those linking vaccines to autism.
The documentary is based on the 2020 book of the same name by Dr. Judy Mikovits and Kent Heckenlively, which had a foreword by prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, is also interviewed in the documentary.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, a representative for Neeson said: "We all recognize that corruption can exist within the pharmaceutical industry, but that should never be conflated with opposition to vaccines.
“Liam never has been, and is not, anti-vaccination. His extensive work with UNICEF underscores his long-held support for global immunization and public-health initiatives. He did not shape the film's editorial content, and any questions about its claims or messaging should be directed to the producers."
The Independent has approached Heckenlively, who produced the film, for further comment.
“The whole thing about ‘vaccines have been tested and there’s been this determination made,’ is just a lie,” Kennedy said in an interview with The New York Times.
The “vaccine safety” on the CDC website now argues that the statement “vaccines do not cause autism” is not based on evidence because it doesn't rule out the possibility that infant vaccines might be linked to the disorder. Public health researchers and other scientists have strongly pushed back against the updated website, pointing out that it misleads the public by exploiting the fact that scientific method cannot prove a negative.
Decades of research exploring links between vaccines and autism have all pointed to the conclusion that vaccines do not cause autism.
Earlier this month, Neeson’s The Naked Gun co-star Pamela Anderson opened up about their off-screen relationship following weeks of speculation.
“If you must know, Liam and I were romantically involved for a short while but only after we finished filming [The Naked Gun],” the former Baywatch star told an interviewer.
She went on to say that she and the actor spent “an intimate week” at his home in upstate New York, where she had her own room.