Rapper and singer M.I.A. is being called out on social media after comparing Alex Jones' lies about the massacre of children to celebrities who promoted life-saving vaccines during the pandemic.
The 47-year-old, who revealed in May that she was a born-again Christian, reacted to news on Wednesday of a $1 billion U.S. verdict against Jones for claiming the Sandy Hook school shooting was staged. M.I.A. tweeted: “If Alex jones pays for lying shouldn’t every celebrity pushing vaccines pay too?”
If Alex jones pays for lying shouldn’t every celebrity pushing vaccines pay too ?
— M.I.A. (@MIAuniverse) October 12, 2022
Among those reacting was actor Elijah Wood, who replied: “ummmm…what?”
Writer Jennifer C. Martin shared: “friend do you think listening to the majority of medical doctors in the world (not celebs) is the same tangential experience as being told your dead child never existed and is part of a govt op? extraordinarily privileged position for a rich, wealthy person without dead children.”
Some M.I.A. fans shared their disappointment. “Pls don’t do this. I had a lot of respect for you as an artist,” one tweeted. “Vaccines are one of the biggest human #publichealth successes ever.” Another shared: “Oh girl. Don’t do this. We all love your little cash register gun song. Don’t ruin it. Just eat your food.”
M.I.A. later doubled down. “Alex jones lying and Pfizer lying both trending . One with penalty other without,” she wrote. "If you have no critical thinking faculty, this is about as crazy as we should get before a nuclear war wipe out the human race.”
She added: “iTS 2022 , so far no one has ever paid a billion dollars for lying or being in denial on this planet .”
What happened to you
— Ryan Marino MD (@RyanMarino) October 13, 2022
— Casey Ho (@CaseyHo) October 13, 2022
— G O L D I E. (@goldietaylor) October 13, 2022
— Red (@Redpainter1) October 13, 2022
— pokey pup (@Whatapityonyou) October 13, 2022
No, but every public figure who pushed dangerous anti-vaccine nonsense should!
— Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) October 13, 2022