Pelakon Ant Man, Evangeline Lilly memohon maaf secara terbuka selepas mencetuskan kontroversi kerana enggan mengambil langkah mengasingkan diri atau kuarantin ketika penularan wabak Covid-19.

Evangeline sebelum ini mencetus kontroversi kerana mengumumkan dia dan dua anaknya yang masih kecil tetap akan meneruskan rutin harian seperti biasa walaupun dikenakan perintah berkurung.

"Saya ingin memohon maaf dengan ikhlas kerana sikap tidak peka ditunjukkan terhadap penderitaan dan kebimbangan yang mencengkam dunia disebabkan Covid-19.

"Dunia sedang bergelut untuk mencari penawar bagi menghentikan ancaman ni, dan sikap membisu saya ibarat mesej acuh tak acuh dan bongkak," katanya di Instagram beberapa jam lalu.

Bintang drama bersiri Lost itu malah mendakwa dia sebenarnya kuarantin diri sejak 18 Mac lalu.

Pada 16 Mac lalu, Evangeline, 40, mengundang perhatian umum apabila dia memperkecilkan wabak pandemik Covid-19 sebagai demam selesema atau mungkin langkah politik.

Bagaimanapun, Evangeline mendakwa dia dan keluarganya sudah mempraktikkan penjarakan sosial sejak 18 Mac lalu.

"Dua hari kemudian (selepas memuat naik kenyataan kontroversi), pandangan saya berubah.

"Walaupun terdapat keraguan terhadap kesan sosio ekonomi dan politik daripada tindakan ni, tolong ambil maklum bahawa saya jalankan juga tanggungjawab untuk memutuskan rantai wabak, amalkan penjarakan sosial dengan duduk di rumah bersama keluarga," katanya.

Pelakon Marvel itu juga menjelaskan bahawa dia tidak berniat untuk melukakan perasaan sesiapa yang terjejas akibat wabak tersebut melalui hantarannya yang kontroversi.

"Apabila saya menulis kenyataan itu 10 hari lalu, saya ingat dapat menenangkan diri ketika berdepan situasi panik.

"Namun, akhirnya sekarang sedar saya cuma menambah ketakutan diri sendiri dalam situasi yang sememangnya sudah traumatik," katanya.

Sepertimana orang lain yang bergelut dengan kesan Covid-19, Evangeline berkata, dia juga berasa bimbang terhadap komuniti yang bergantung hidup pada perniagaan atau pendapatan kecil.

"Saya berasa sedih kerana kita kehilangan nyawa yang berterusan, dan petugas perubatan perlu mengambil risiko untuk merawat mereka yang dijangkiti.

"Saya juga cuba ikut saranan bagaimana untuk membantu pada waktu-waktu ini," katanya.

View this post on Instagram

Hello everyone. I am writing you from my home where I have been social distancing since Mar 18th – when social distancing was instituted in the small community where I am currently living. At the time of my Mar 16th post, the directives from the authorities here were that we not congregate in groups of more than 250ppl and that we wash our hands regularly, which we were doing. Two days later, those directives changed and, despite my intense trepidation over the socioeconomic and political repercussions of this course of action, PLEASE KNOW I AM DOING MY PART TO FLATTEN THE CURVE, PRACTICING SOCIAL DISTANCING AND STAYING HOME WITH MY FAMILY. 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. 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. My direct and special apologies to those most affected by this pandemic. I never meant to hurt you. When I wrote that post 10 days ago, I thought I was infusing calm into the hysteria. I can see now that I was projecting my own fears into an already fearful and traumatic situation. I am grieved by the ongoing loss of life, and the impossible decisions medical workers around the world must make as they treat those affected. I am concerned for our communities – small businesses and families living paycheck-to-paycheck – and I am trying to follow responsible recommendations for how to help. Like many of you, I fear for the political aftermath of this pandemic, and I am praying for us all. At the same time, I am heartened by the beauty and humanity I see so many people demonstrating toward one another in this vulnerable time. When I was grappling with my own fears over social distancing, one kind, wise and gracious person said to me “do it out of love, not fear” and it helped me to realize my place in all of this. Sending love to all of you, even if you can’t return it right now. EL

A post shared by Evangeline Lilly (@evangelinelillyofficial) on