Shang-Chi Actor Simu Liu Reveals His Grandparents Died From COVID-19

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor Simu Liu made a devastating confession as he urged his nearly 875,000 followers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Liu, who plays the title character in the Marvel film, reveals he was forced to say goodbye to his grandparents who tragically died of COVID-19 last year. 

"They were still waiting for their vaccines. I'm fortunate to have been double-vaccinated and boosted when I got COVID 2 weeks ago. Felt like a cold. The media needs to stop spotlighting opinions that are not rooted in facts or science," he tweeted on Thursday. 

"As a UNICEF Canada ambassador I have seen the organization's efforts to deliver vaccines to underprivileged families around the world," Liu continued in a follow-up tweet. "It's a reminder of how lucky we are to be living in places where vaccine delivery and storage are not an issue. Please, PLEASE appreciate that."

Liu's message echoed a different message than that of another Marvel star Evangeline Lilly, who also made headlines this week after she attended an anti-vaccine mandate protest in Washington, D.C. the Ant-Man actress spoke out regarding her decision to attend after it became clear that the move ruffled some feathers. "I believe nobody should ever be forced to inject their body with anything, against their will," she wrote on Instagram, explaining that she doesn't feel consequences like "violent attacks," loss of jobs, "alienation from loved ones" and "excommunication from society" should be deemed an appropriate response to not being vaccinated. 

This wasn't the actress' first COVID-related faux pas. Lilly also apologized at the beginning of the pandemic after she made a statement calling the disease a similar affliction to the flu. "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," Lilly wrote in March 2020, per E! News. "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."