TV and movie sets are dealing with a "vaccine war"

The Hollywood Reporter

The real-life divide over COVID vaccinations have played out on sets of TV shows and movies. The Hollywood Reporter reports that Paramount+ The Godfather making-of series The Offer was shut down in late July, resulting in a $6 million loss, after an unvaccinated series star tested positive. (A Paramount+ rep counters that the figure was below $6 million.) Sean Penn made headlines when he refused to return to Starz's Gaslit until everybody was vaccinated. He recently reached a compromise for only those in Zone A to be vaccinated. “Each individual has his or her own rights. We aren’t in control of anyone’s body, only that person is,” says Black-ish star Anthony Anderson. “I’m vaccinated because I have preexisting conditions as a Type 2 diabetic, so I wanted to make sure that I did whatever I could to stave off this pandemic and COVID. But I’m not here to judge anyone on what they should do with their body. I can only govern what I’m doing with mine. As long as they respect me, I respect them. And as long as we keep our 6-foot distance and wear a mask, then we can interact and do what we want to do. But it’s not my place to police anyone.” Meanwhile, Giancarlo Esposito thinks unvaccinated cast and crew members should be banished. “If you don’t want to vaccinate, go to a small island and sequester yourself,” says The Mandalorian and Better Call Saul star. “(Otherwise) you’re saying ‘F*ck you’ to all you other human beings. We all have to do it if we want to live. I don’t understand how people don’t vaccinate. For me, I’ve lost dear friends, so I know it’s real. Not only in Europe but in America, friends who were completely healthy and uncompromised. The vaccine is the answer. I’m not downing anyone who doesn’t want to vaccinate. Don’t work. Go ride it out somewhere where you’re not going to compromise anyone else if you get it.”