During his recent appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” actor Woody Harrelson made controversial comments about the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccines that have been developed to combat it.
In his opening monologue, Harrelson shared a far-fetched conspiracy theory that drug companies were manipulating the pandemic to force vaccines on the public and make a profit.
Harrelson began his monologue by describing a scenario in which the “biggest drug cartels in the world” buy up all the media and politicians and force people to stay locked in their homes, only allowing them to leave if they take the cartel’s drugs repeatedly.
He then jokingly dismissed the idea, saying, “I threw the script away. I mean, who was going to believe that crazy idea? Being forced to do drugs? I do that voluntarily all day.”
However, Harrelson’s comments did not go over well with many viewers, including TV producer Lee Goldberg, who called the actor’s monologue “insipid anti-vax.”
Thank you, @nbcsnl, for Woody Harrelson's insipid anti-vax monologue. Who are going to have guest host next week, Scott Baio? Rob Schneider? Kevin Sorbo? Maybe invite Kanye back while you're at it.
— Lee Goldberg (@LeeGoldberg) February 26, 2023
Others expressed frustration with Harrelson’s lack of sensitivity towards those who have been directly affected by the pandemic, with one individual sharing that they lost a loved one to the virus.
Harrelson is no stranger to controversial comments about the pandemic. In the past, he has suggested that mask-wearing is “absurd” and claimed that he never contracted the virus because he is “internally clean.”
Watch below:
What did you think of his monologue?
