MIA sparks backlash after comparing Alex Jones verdict to celebrities promoting vaccines
Singer has previously denied being anti-vaccination
MIA has prompted a backlash over a series of tweets about vaccines and Alex Jones.
Relatives of Sandy Hook victims were awarded a combined $965m (£870m) in damages after the jury reached its verdict in Jones’s defamation trial on Wednesday (12 October).
The far-right conspiracy theorist and Infowars host was sued over his claims that the 2012 school shooting, which saw 20 children and six adults killed, was a hoax.
He must pay the sum to the plaintiffs, including 15 family members who lost loved ones in the shooting and a former FBI agent who responded at the time.
On Thursday (13 October), MIA tweeted: “If Alex Jones pays for lying, shouldn’t every celebrity pushing vaccines pay too?”
The musician followed up her tweet with another that said: “Alex Jones lying and Pfizer lying both trending. One with penalty, other without. If you have no critical thinking faculty, this is about as crazy as we should get before a nuclear war wipe[s] out the human race.”
The singer – real name Mathangi Arulpragasam – accompanied the tweet with a screenshot of what appears to be her Twitter “For You” page, on which trending topics about Jones and Pfizer were both trending.
Her tweet has prompted backlash from many people, including Elijah Wood.
The Lord of the Rings star responded with bafflement, replying: “Ummmm… what?”
Australian singer Brendan Maclean said “omg let’s all take advice from the person, which the bang bang ca-ching song from 200 [sic]”, in a reference to MIA’s 2007 hit “Paper Planes”.
TV personality Patrick Monahan, who has been seen on Loose Women and The One Show, responded with a photo of a minion from the popular children’s animation franchise Despicable Me being crucified on a cross.
In 2020, MIA prompted speculation that she is an anti-vaxxer after tweeting: “If I have to choose the vaccine or chip I’m gonna choose death.”
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She also addressed her followers at the time, writing: “Don’t panic, you are ok. You are not gonna die. You are fine [...] All the vaccines you’ve already had is enough to see you through.”
The singer added: “Yeah in America they made me [vaccinate] my child before the school admission. It was the hardest thing. To not have a choice over this as a mother.”
She later clarified her comments, declaring that she was not against vaccination and that her tweets were aimed at profiteering pharmaceutical companies.
“I’m not against vaccines. I’m against companies who care more for profit than humans. I care for better track record that proves this,” she wrote.
“I care that African countries are not always the testing ground. I don’t want it coming from banks / tech / hedge fund sector and I want a choice.”
She also tweeted, in a reference to the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 was being caused by the rollout of 5G data network: “Preventing is always better than cure. Can you love vax and 5G at the same time?”
In May, MIA revealed the title for her forthcoming album, Mata. In an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, she also spoke about being a born-again Christian.