M.I.A. Roasted for Talking Alex Jones and COVID Vaccines in Questionable Tweets

Sri Lankan singer-songwriter M.I.A. is trending again, but not for another global hit like “Paper Planes.” The artist took to Twitter Wednesday to share her thoughts on the news that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1 billion in restitution to the families of Sandy Hook victims after he vehemently denied the existence of the massacre. “If Alex jones pays for lying shouldn’t every celebrity pushing vaccines pay too?,” she wrote. She then followed up with another tweet: “Alex jones lying and Pfizer lying both trending. One with penalty other without. If you have no critical thinking faculty, this is about as crazy as we should get before a nuclear war wipe out the human race.” Fans and stars alike weren’t having it with the notorious provocateur, who in 2010 told The New York Times that she wanted to be an “outsider,” and was fine with being labelled a “terrorist” for saying unpopular things. “ummmm…what?,” shot back Elijah Wood to the anti-vax tweet. Some online critics slammed the South Asian artist for misusing her platform after the region was so hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, while others questioned if the musician had suddenly gained a medical license.