Famous antivaxxers: from Emilio Estevez to Kanye West and Eric Clapton

Disney has taken a tough stand with Emilio Estevez. Despite being one of the stars of 'The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers,' the company has decided not to renew him for the second season of the Disney Plus series, because he's refusing to take the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

ABC Signature has been negotiating with the actor's agent for several weeks but no agreement has been reached. Despite the upheaval of changing scripts and production, the decision has been final, 'Deadline' reports. Emilio Estevez played Gordon Bombay in the revival of the movie 'Mighty Ducks.'

The sequel of 'Black Panther' went through some rough patches in 2021. Not only was it delayed due to the pandemic and actress Letitia Wright's injury, but it's also had to deal with the refusal of Wright to get vaccinated. Without the shot, it seemed questionable for some time whether Letitia Wright could participate in the new movie. In the end, the matter seems to have been settled.

The young actress of 'Black Panther' revealed in December 2020 that she wasn't going to get the vaccine. She shared a video on Instagram with statements about the effects of the vaccine by a pseudo-scholar. Since then, her viewpoints haven't changed.

The most famous case in the NBA has been that of Kyrie Irving. The point guard and star of the Brooklyn Nets, who were in contention for everything this season, did not want to be vaccinated and the New York team decided to remove him from the team until he was vaccinated.

The stand taken by the Brooklyn Nets affected both the season, in which the point guard was to be paid 35 million dollars, and his multi-million dollar, four-year, $186 million renewal. In early 2022, Irving was allowed to play away games again, due to a shortage of replacements in the team. In New York State, however, he is not allowed to play.

He regretted not having been vaccinated, but his change of heart came to late. The English rapper, Marcus Birks, contracted COVID-19 in early August and died on the 27th after a few horrible weeks in the hospital.

The musician had been known to make dismissive statements about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccination. He said he did not need the vaccination because he was a healthy, strong man who played sports and had a balanced diet.

When he was in hospital, Birks gave an interview to the BBC and acknowledged having been 'silly' for believing in inaccurate information and conspiracy theories: "If you haven’t been ill, you don’t think you’re going to get ill, so you listen to the [antivax] stuff."

Marcus Birks leaves behind his pregnant wife Lis, who was also the vocalist alongside the rapper in the house collective Cappella. Apart from that project (since 2013), the rapper had become famous in the UK after appearing on 'Britain's Got Talent', 'Bad Lads Army' and 'Popstars'.

Eric Clapton has been vocally anti-vaccine. His reputation had already been scarred by his denialist statements during the pandemic, and recently he announced that he would refuse to perform in venues that require the vaccine. It will undoubtedly limit his options.

In his statement, Clapton was categorical. "I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present. Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show," he said.

Comedian Rob Schneider is considerably antivax and stated on Twitter: “Just say no… And keep saying no… More than half of the US population continues to say no to this unapproved experimental gene therapy! My body, my choice."

While Deuce Bigalow makes his anti-vax statements on Twitter, cases in the US have been rising over the summer. Especially in Florida, Texas, and Schneider's home state, California.

(Image: Rob Schneider in 'The Animal,' via Getty)

Offspring drummer Pete Parada left the band in early August 2021 because he decided not to get the second COVID shot. He wrote on Instagram that he's "unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate," namely being vaccinated to enter a concert hall or club.

(Image: Twitter, @PeteParada)

As a result, "it has recently been decided that I am unsafe to be around, in the studio and on tour," the drummer wrote. Basically, and yet respectfully, the band had told him: get the second vaccine or you can't tour with us. Parada shared his heart-breaking post because he felt that a lot of people were 'getting left behind right now.'

The musician said he suffered Guillain-Barré syndrome, where a person's immune system damages their nerves. He explained that the condition had worsened after the first vaccine and he wasn't willing - nor would doctors suggest - to go through a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. "The risks far outweigh the benefits," he concluded.

Stone Roses singer Ian Brown has also made his opinion public about the dangers of the vaccination side-effects. He has promoted conspiracy theories and explained his actions were due to having "a family member whose health was destroyed by [previous] vaccinations".

A long-time supporter of the anti-vaccination movement, the actor has spread the false theory that vaccines cause autism. He's been more discreet when it comes to COVID-19.

In January 2021, when Larry King passed away, he tweeted: "We lost someone very precious to the virus today. Let’s do everything we can to keep each other safe." He did not mention the vaccine, though.

Singer Richard Ashcroft from the Verve pulled out of several festivals because he refuses to play "concerts with restriction." He made his opinion about vaccination quite clear, using the hashtags "#naturalrebel" and "#theydontownme".

There are also those who think that evil forces are behind the COVID-19 vaccine. This is the case of rapper Kanye West, who said that the vaccine was the "mark of the beast" and that it was a way to "put chips inside us".

Earlier on in the year the musician explained his worry about the vaccine by stating the following [via Blabbermouth]: "I'm a little sceptical of getting the vaccine, but it seems to be rolling out and people are getting it and I've got lots of friends that have done it — I'm not totally sure about it. But I hope it doesn't come to a point where you have to have that COVID stamp in your passport or something to go everywhere. But if it comes down to that, then I'll make a decision then." The time to make his decision has now surely arrived.

The rapper posted on Twitter that if she had to choose between a vaccine or a chip, she would prefer death. In another post, she said that most of science is linked to business, and that the best thing to do against the coronavirus is prevention. Finally, the artist claimed that she regretted having vaccinated her son, who is currently 11 years old.

Broadway theater actress Laura Osnes left the cast of 'Crazy For You,' a show set for late August 2021. The reason was that she refused to receive the coronavirus vaccine.

Read more: stars who had the COVID-19 vaccine and others who probably won't