Evangeline Lilly apologizes for 'arrogant' coronavirus comments: 'I was projecting my own fears'

Evangeline Lilly apologized Thursday for her “dismissive” and “arrogant” comments concerning the coronavirus after she initially balked at self-isolation.

The Canadian actress who starred in “Lost” and portrays Wasp in the Marvel movies sparked a wave of backlash last week after she publicly rejected calls for social distancing and said she valued freedom over safety during the coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed the country.

Ms. Lilly wrote on March 16 that her life was “business as usual” and that she had dropped her kids off at gymnastics camp.

“Some people value their lives over freedom, some people value freedom over their lives,” she wrote at the time. “We all make our choices.”

In a lengthy Instagram post Thursday afternoon, Ms. Lilly revealed that she had been social distancing and staying home with her family since March 18.

“I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology for the insensitivity I showed in my previous post to the very real suffering and fear that has gripped the world through COVID19,” she wrote. “Grandparents, parents, children, sisters and brothers are dying, the world is rallying to find a way to stop this very real threat, and my ensuing silence has sent a dismissive, arrogant and cryptic message.

“My direct and special apologies to those most affected by this pandemic. I never meant to hurt you,” she continued. “When I wrote that post 10 days ago, I thought I was infusing calm into the hysteria. I can see now that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation.”

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Hello everyone. I am writing you from my home where I have been social distancing since Mar 18th – when social distancing was instituted in the small community where I am currently living. At the time of my Mar 16th post, the directives from the authorities here were that we not congregate in groups of more than 250ppl and that we wash our hands regularly, which we were doing. Two days later, those directives changed and, despite my intense trepidation over the socioeconomic and political repercussions of this course of action, PLEASE KNOW I AM DOING MY PART TO FLATTEN THE CURVE, PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAYING HOME WITH MY FAMILY. I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt apology for the insensitivity I showed in my previous post to the very real suffering and fear that has gripped the world through COVID19. Grandparents, parents, children, sisters and brothers are dying, the world is rallying to find a way to stop this very real threat, and my ensuing silence has sent a dismissive, arrogant and cryptic message. My direct and special apologies to those most affected by this pandemic. I never meant to hurt you. When I wrote that post 10 days ago, I thought I was infusing calm into the hysteria. I can see now that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation. I am grieved by the ongoing loss of life, and the impossible decisions medical workers around the world must make as they treat those affected. I am concerned for our communities – small businesses and families living paycheck-to-paycheck – and I am trying to follow responsible recommendations for how to help. Like many of you, I fear for the political aftermath of this pandemic, and I am praying for us all. At the same time, I am heartened by the beauty and humanity I see so many people demonstrating toward one another in this vulnerable time. When I was grappling with my own fears over social distancing, one kind, wise and gracious person said to me “do it out of love, not fear” and it helped me to realize my place in all of this. Sending love to all of you, even if you can’t return it right now. EL

A post shared by Evangeline Lilly (@evangelinelillyofficial) on Mar 26, 2020 at 1:29pm PDT