Eternals Stars Exposed to COVID-19 at LA Premiere
In an article posted to the News 18 website (courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter) on Wednesday, October 20th, 2021, it was revealed that several stars of the new Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Eternals were forced to skip a Tuesday night event after they had a possible COVID-19 exposure during their Monday night movie premiere.
An Ongoing Pandemic
On Monday, October 18th, 2021, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, and Lauren Ridloff all attended the world premiere of Eternals in Hollywood, California. The crowded event was also attended by the rest of the cast, their families, and other MCU stars.
Maddox Jolie-Pitt, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Knox Jolie-Pitt, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, and Zahara Jolie-Pitt attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” on October 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
However, Jolie, Hayek, Chan, and Ridloff were scheduled to attend an event on the evening of Tuesday, October 19th, 2021, which they were unable to appear at due to the possible COVID-19 exposure the day before.
During the opening remarks of the Elle Magazine’s Women in Hollywood gala event on the 19th, Elle editor in chief Nina Garcia stated that the four women, who appeared in this month’s issue of Elle, would not be attending the event, as they were self-isolating after the exposure. In an alarmingly prophetic post, the day prior to the cancellation Garcia tweeted that she was excited for this year’s event because last year’s was cancelled due to COVID-19.
Last year, our annual @ELLEmagazine #WomeninHollywood event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since, we’ve been itching to bring it back as quickly as possible.https://t.co/HAnyXIBZzc pic.twitter.com/WvBQXwQV48
— Nina Garcia (@ninagarcia) October 18, 2021
While COVID-19 may have been around for almost two years now, the pandemic continues to be an ongoing concern, as is demonstrated by the exposure Monday night. Given the heightened security precautions that should take place at a Hollywood premiere, the circumstances surrounding this exposure seem a little suspect…
British actress Gemma Chan arrives for Marvel Studios’ “Eternals” premiere at the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles, October 18, 2021. Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP
It’s an especially stark reminder when you consider the additional COVID-precautions that were taken at the previous Marvel Studios red carpet event earlier this fall: staff was required to provide proof of vaccination, attendees were required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the past 48 hours, and masks were required at all times during the screening (although I was informed by certain people who attended Shang-Chi’s red carpet premiere that a pair of men inside that movie’s TCL Chinese Theater screening took off their masks – and left them off – as soon as the lights were dimmed).
Eternals: Exclusively in Theaters Nov. 5th
Unfortunately, due to the fact that I am immunocompromised, I cannot take the risk of seeing Eternals in a theater (especially one with more lax COVID requirements than these Hollywood red carpet premieres). However, tickets are available now for theater screenings, which begin on November 5th, 2021.
