Shailene Woodley is addressing media coverage of her regarding her fiancé Aaron Rodgers’ decision to not get vaccinated and subsequent controversial comments on the topic.
On Saturday, Nov. 6, the 29-year-old actor shared a message alongside an unrelated video of a pig getting a bath on her Instagram Stories. Above the video, Woodley penned a message addressed to the media to set the record straight on a report.
“just read somewhere that the media is claiming i deleted an insta story amid the ‘chaos,’” she wrote. “(an astrology post of all things) (not cryptic at all you dummies).”
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Woodley continued adding, “do you even know how stories work brah ?? they self delete after 24 hrs.”
“literally lol’ing over here at your determination to make a story out of nothing,” she concluded the message. “grasping at straws my dears …”
Woodley seemingly referred to articles published on Friday. In one article, it was reported that Woodley shared a “since-deleted quote via Instagram.” Page Six reported that the post read, “Calm seas may bring you peace, but storms are where you’ll find your power."
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Woodley confirmed in an interview on “The Tonight Show” in February 2021 that she got engaged to the football star. She explained they had been engaged “for a while” after meeting during the pandemic.
“Everybody right now is freaking out over it and we're like, 'Yeah, we've been engaged for a while,’” she told host Jimmy Fallon.
“He’s, first of all, a wonderful, incredible human being,” she added. “But I never thought I’d be engaged to someone who throws balls for a living.”
On Wednesday, it was announced that Rodgers had tested positive for COVID-19 and would miss the Green Bay Packers’ next game on Sunday, Nov. 7. against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The National Football League’s health and safety protocols state that the 37-year-old quarterback would need to spend at minimum 10 days away from the rest of the team and can only return after he is asymptomatic. This mandate is only in place for unvaccinated players in the league. Vaccinated players who test positive instead need two negative tests, one day apart.
In August, Rodgers told reporters that he was “immunized,” adding that he wasn’t “gonna judge” any unvaccinated players. At the time of his positive case this week, the team’s head coach Matt LaFleur declined to comment on the player's vaccination status.
On Friday, Rodgers himself confirmed that he was unvaccinated, citing allergies to “an ingredient that’s in the mRNA vaccines” made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for his decision. In addition, he expressed fear surrounding any potential adverse side effects of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The NFL quarterback also revealed that he has received monoclonal antibodies and taken ivermectin, a drug used generally to deworm animals, but did not disclose how he gained access to either. The drug has grown in popularity among those who oppose vaccinations but the FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 in humans.
Rodgers spoke out about the controversy during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on SiriusXM.
“Look, I'm not, you know, some sort of anti-vax flat-earther. I am somebody who is a critical thinker,” he said, adding, “I believe strongly in bodily autonomy and ability to make choices for your body … Health is not a one-size-fits-all for everybody.”
When reflecting on his answers to reporters over the summer, Rodgers said he “wanted it to go away.”
"Everyone on the squad knew I was not vaccinated,” he said. “Everyone in the organization knew I wasn’t vaccinated. I wasn’t hiding from anybody. I was trying to minimize and mitigate having this conversation going on and on.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
