Liam Neeson denies being anti-vax following role in Covid vaccine documentary

Liam Neeson has narrated a new documentary that casts doubt on vaccines and speaks approvingly of Donald Trump’s health and human services secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Plague of Corruption: 80 Years of Pharmaceutical Corruption Exposed features the voice of the Taken star and is adapted from a bestselling book co-authored by Judy Mikovits, a former scientist who rose to prominence during the Covid pandemic after promoting widely discredited claims.

Mikovits alleged that Covid was caused by a faulty flu vaccine and publicly urged people not to be vaccinated.

The book’s other author, Kent Heckenlively, serves as an executive producer on the documentary.

Heckenlively has previously collaborated with far-right radio host Alex Jones, who was ordered to pay $1.4bn in damages after falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Reacting to Neeson’s involvement, Heckenlively wrote on social media: “Liam Neeson for the win. Aslan in on our side!”

Heckenlively also appears in the film, which is directed by Michael Mazzola, whose past work includes documentaries exploring UFO conspiracy theories.

Neeson’s representatives have since pushed back against suggestions that the actor opposes the use of vaccines.

“We all recognize that corruption can exist within the pharmaceutical industry, but that should never be conflated with opposition to vaccines,” a statement sent to the Guardian reads.

“Liam never has been, and is not, anti-vaccination. His extensive work with Unicef underscores his long-held support for global immunisation 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.”

Evening Standard has contacted Liam Neeson’s rep for comment.

Neeson has previously spoken publicly in support of vaccination in his role as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. “Once a terrifying diagnosis, polio is no longer a threat in most of the world,” he said in 2022.

“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.”

Promotional clips from Plague of Corruption shared online advance a series of claims that have been widely discredited, including assertions linking vaccines to autism, the unfounded suggestion that the polio vaccine caused the Covid-19 pandemic, and the contention that “some vaccines are not safe and effective”.

Neeson’s narration features prominently across the film’s social media channels. In one clip, he can be heard saying that “science has become dangerously politicised”.

The trailer also includes comments from Kennedy, who describes Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as “one of the most powerful people in the world”, adding that he “should be in prison for what he did to those babies”.