Liam Neeson Denies Being Anti-Vax Amid Controversy Over Narrating Pharmaceutical Corruption Doc: ‘Never Has Been, and Is Not, Anti-Vaccination’

Liam Neeson “never has been, and is not, anti-vaccination,” a representative for the actor told Entertainment Weekly amid controversy over Neeson’s participation in the documentary “Plague of Corruption: 80 Years of Pharmaceutical Corruption Exposed.” The film, directed by Michael Mazzola and based on the 2021 book of the same name, “expresses skepticism toward vaccines, features discredited science and includes an interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services and a noted vaccine skeptic.” Neeson serves as a narrator in the documentary.

“We all recognize that corruption can exist within the pharmaceutical industry, but that should never be conflated with opposition to vaccines,” Neeson’s representative said. “Liam never has been, and is not, anti-vaccination. His extensive work with UNICEF underscores his long-held support for global immunization and public-health initiatives. He did not shape the film’s editorial content, and any questions about its claims or messaging should be directed to the producers.”

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Variety has reached out to Neeson’s representative for additional comment.

Per Entertainment Weekly: “Clips from ‘Plague of Corruption’ posted to social media promote the disproven notion that autism is linked to vaccines, the baseless idea that the polio vaccine caused the COVID-19 pandemic, and an insistence that ‘some vaccines are not safe and effective.’ Neeson’s voice can be heard in several clips on the film’s social media page, including one in which he claims that ‘science has become dangerously politicized.'”

Neeson has regularly advocated for vaccines throughout his role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, saying in 2022: “Once a terrifying diagnosis, polio is no longer a threat in most of the world. The conversation about vaccines in recent years has lost sight of how much good they have done for each of us. We need to celebrate this. It is perhaps one of the biggest collective achievements in human history.”