“Live Fast, Die Young, Right?”: M.I.A. Is Being Slammed For Dangerous Anti-Vaxxer Comments
M.I.A. tweeted she'd rather die of COVID-19 than accept a potential vaccine.
M.I.A. has attracted widespread criticism after Tweeting that she would rather die than accept “the vaccine” for COVID-19.
The rapper took to Twitter to share her thoughts on Thursday, writing “if I have to choose the vaccine or chip I’m gonna choose death — YALA” — a reference to her song ‘You Only Live Always’.
In a now-deleted Tweet, she went on to explain she believed her son was once sick for three weeks due to a mandatory vaccine to allow him to attend school in the US.
“In America they made me vacinate [sic] my child before the school admission. It was the hardest thing,” she wrote.
“To not have choice over this as a mother. I never wanna feel that again. He was so sick for 3 weeks then Docs had to pump him with antibiotics to reduce the fever from 3 vaxins.”
She then wrote that ‘corona is in bed with science’, echoing the sort of conspiratorial thought pattern across much of her music. But where 2010 album MAYA‘s obsession with government surveillance may have proved salient, anti-vaccine sentiment has routinely, again and again, been disproven.
Her fans expressed profound disappointment, with many saying she was endangering lives.
Beyond irresponsible and reckless.
— Heba Hersi (@Hebahersi) March 25, 2020
One follower even pointed out they were now more vulnerable to the pandemic due to health issues stemming from their parent’s anti-vax views.
“I’m at greater risk during this pandemic because of lung issues sustained because my parents didn’t vaccinate me against the measles and I caught it as an adult,” wrote @Sorrrelish. “I lost a year of my life and it took five years for my health to stabilise. Vax your kids.”
M.I.A. doubled-down on her statements, saying we shouldn’t “panic” or “live in fear”.
“You are not gonna die,” she wrote. “You can make it without stressing the medical systems. Just breathe. You are going to be ok. You can make it through without jumping in the frying pan. You are fine. All the vaccines you’ve already had is enough to see you through.”
Have a healthy life. Don't live in fear!
— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) March 25, 2020
She then wrote that “cancelling is irrelevant”, seemingly unbothered by the criticism. As always, we suggest taking medical advice from medical professionals, not celebrities.