Evangeline Lilly urges Justin Trudeau to speak with protesting Canadian truckers
Lilly has been outspoken against COVID-19 vaccine mandates
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Evangeline Lilly urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to speak with the group of truck drivers protesting COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates.
Lilly, who is Canadian, addressed her thoughts directly at Trudeau in a video shared on Bridge City News' Instagram account.
"I want to speak to you today about your current approach to and current treatment of our fellow Canadians who are protesting your federal vaccine mandates," the actress said in the video. "They have asked to meet with you, prime minister, medical experts, top scientists, doctors, nurses, parents, grandparents, intelligent, loving, concerned citizens."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Avengers: Endgame" star went on to cite a report that 2.3 million people had participated in the ongoing Canadian protests, although Reuters claimed the number was misattributed to the Ottawa police and has not been confirmed.
Evangeline Lilly urged Justin Trudeau to sit down and speak with Canadian truckers who have been protesting COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates in Ottawa.
EVANGELINE LILLY RAILS AGAINST VACCINE MANDATES, SAYS IT'S ‘NOT SAFE': ‘THIS IS NOT THE WAY’
"If you’re so convinced of your own reasons for the mandates, sit down and walk the leaders of a group of 2.3 million protesters across the country who represent many millions more across the nation, and explain it to them and ask them to listen with open hearts and minds, and then reciprocate," she said. "Listen to what they have to say with a mind open to hearing things that might go against the ideas you are entrenched in."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Canadian truckers have been protesting in Ottawa since late January calling for an end to COVID-19 mandates. On Feb. 14, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history.
Lilly has been outspoken about her concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. In January, the "Ant-Man" star railed against vaccine mandates in a social media post.
"I was in DC this weekend to support bodily sovereignty while Canadian truckers were rallying for their cross-country, peaceful convoy in support of the same thing," she captioned her post.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She added that she believes nobody "should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will."
Lilly has been outspoken about her concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic in the past. She recently railed against the COVID-19 vaccine.
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"This is not the way," Lilly insisted. "This is not safe. This is not healthy. This is not love. I understand the world is in fear, but I don’t believe that answering fear with force will fix our problems."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In March 2020, she said on Instagram that she and her family were not strictly following safety recommendations, dismissing them as "unnerving." She said at the time that she was "immune compromised" and was living with her father, who was fighting "stage four" leukemia.
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At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lilly received backlash after she revealed she and her family hadn't been taking the safety recommendations seriously.
In the days following, the actress apologized for her "dismissive, arrogant" comments on the matter and assured fans that she was social distancing and staying home to "flatten the curve."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.