Topline
Actor Woody Harrelson spread a conspiracy theory about Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers during his monologue when hosting Saturday Night Live this week, adding to previous eyebrow-raising comments he’s made about the virus.
Key Facts
During his monologue, Harrelson joked about having a read a crazy script in which “all the biggest drug cartels in the world get together and buy up all the media and all the politicians and force all the people in the world to stay locked in their homes, and people can only come out if they take the cartels’ drugs and keep taking them over and over.”
Harrelson said he “threw the script away” because “who’s going to believe that crazy idea, being forced to do drugs—I do that voluntarily all day long.”
Harrelson didn’t directly mention the coronavirus vaccines in his monologue, but his jokes appeared to be barely-veiled references to pandemic restrictions and vaccine-makers (in reality, many states began lifting their pandemic restrictions months before vaccines became widely available).
The jokes were applauded by billionaire Elon Musk, who tweeted “good one” at a video of the monologue and “nice work @SNL.”
Key Background
This was not Harrelson’s first time sharing false claims about Covid-19. In 2020, he shared on Instagram an article that linked the virus to 5G networks, saying he hasn’t “fully vetted it [but] I find it very interesting,” according to the New York Post. Harrelson later deleted the post. This unfounded conspiracy theory spread during April 2020, when much of the United States was in lockdown. In a May interview with Vanity Fair, Harrelson said he found having to wear masks on set “absurd,” as he is “one who doesn’t believe in the germ theory.” Covid-19 is spread through airborne transmission of droplets, and masks prevent the “emission of virus-laden droplets” and “help reduce inhalation of these droplets” by the wearer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Musk has been publicly critical of vaccines and lockdowns, and has said he believes Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was the public face of the government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis, should be prosecuted.
Tangent
This was Harrelson’s fifth time hosting SNL, making him a member of the “five timers club” of frequent hosts.
Further Reading
Woody Harrelson Spreads Anti-Vax Conspiracies During SNL Monologue (Rolling Stone)
Woody Harrelson’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ Monologue Makes COVID Conspiracy Jokes (Variety)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/02/26/woody-harrelson-spouts-covid-vaccine-conspiracy-in-snl-monologue/