The Nanny star Fran Drescher praises Disney for dropping ‘ludicrous’ vaccine mandates
The Nanny star Fran Drescher has equated vaccine mandates to “fascism” and warned “we stand at a tipping point” in a social media video.
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The Nanny star Fran Drescher has equated vaccine mandates to “fascism” and warned “we stand at a tipping point”.
The 65-year-old actress and comedian, who is the national president of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union, made the comments in a video posted on social media on Saturday, praising Disney for ending its vaccine requirements.
On Friday, Disney told a number of its TV shows that it would no longer require cast and crew to be vaccinated against Covid, the LA Times reported.
Around a dozen shows were affected, including the first-responder drama 9-1-1, according to the report, which noted Disney was among the first major studios to remove vaccination mandates as hospitalisation numbers wane.
Some actors had strongly opposed mandatory vaccinations – which were agreed to by unions and producers under a return-to-work agreement last year – sparking a rift within SAG-AFTRA.
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Drescher, who raised eyebrows early in the pandemic by promoting the conspiracy theory that 5G technology was linked to the spread of the virus, took to Twitter and TikTok to welcome the decision.
“So to think that every human on the planet can take one vaccine is ludicrous,” she said.
“And to make that one vaccine the criteria for who is allowed to work, travel, dine, go to theatre … is an infringement on the Disabilities Act, the Freedom of Religion Act, and body sovereignty.”
@Disney pulls the plug on vaccine mandates! Way to go Mickey!!! pic.twitter.com/mEoYOAOpEB
— Fran Drescher (@frandrescher) November 5, 2022
She added, “We as a nation must be very careful that fear does not turn into fascism. When equal citizens stop being equal, when cards must be presented to identify whether you are included or excluded, we stand at a tipping point of an America I no longer recognise.”
Drescher said even though she herself was vaccinated, she applauded Disney “for taking the position not to vaccine mandate their sets any longer”.
“The problem with discrimination is that there will always be good people who justify it because of an extreme condition, but it is those times especially when we must fight even harder to protect the sanctity of freedom for all and never succumb to an us-versus-them mentality,” she said.
“Above all else, freedom. Peace.”
Drescher had been lobbying against vaccine mandates even though the board of SAG-AFTRA supports their use.
“All companies signatory to the Return to Work Agreement have always had the authority to choose to implement – or not implement – vaccine mandates on productions at their discretion, so long as they are in compliance with the requirements of the agreement,” SAG-AFTRA spokeswoman Pam Greenwalt said in a statement to the LA Times.
The union had previously estimated that about 25 per cent of productions required vaccinations.
Actress Gina Carano, who was dumped from the Disney Star Wars series The Mandalorian in 2021 after a series of controversial social media posts, shared Drescher’s video on Twitter.
“Things are starting to change,” the 40-year-old wrote.
“We went through three years of horrible abuse and discrimination. In three more years it’ll be that much more clear what really transpired. To the people who fought back, our voices matter, it will make life better for so many. Keep fighting; it’s working.”
After being axed by Disney, Carano announced a new partnership with conservative media company The Daily Wire.
But in November 2021, production on their first film, White Knuckle, was halted in response to the industry’s vaccine and mask mandates.
“After we announced our first project this summer, the Hollywood unions started debating vaccine mandates for cast and crew, and I wasn’t into that,” she said in a statement at the time.
“I don’t believe anybody gets to make your medical choices for you and I’m not willing to force masks and vaccines on anyone else.”
Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said he told Carano that “you’re a member of the union, your union is the problem”.
“She said, ‘To hell with it, I’ll quit my union. Let’s make a movie up in Montana where they can’t get after us,’” Mr Boreing said.
In place of White Knuckle, the production team filmed western thriller Terror On The Prairie, which debuted on The Daily Wire’s subscription service in June.
Originally published as The Nanny star Fran Drescher praises Disney for dropping ‘ludicrous’ vaccine mandates
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