The Anti-Vaccinators
Jenny McCarthy Best Known For: The View, 2 And A Half Men, PlayboyScouting Report: Believes the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine caused her son’s autism; is persuasive enough that ex-boyfriend Jim Carrey still plays for the anti-vaccinator squad. Boasts a Roger Clemens-like ability to misremember her stance on the issue. Has been the face of Hollywood’s anti-vaccination campaign for so long, it’s easy to forget she was once a famous naked person. Alicia Silverstone Best Known For: CluelessScouting Report: Opposed vaccination in her 2014 bookThe Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning. (Seriously, that’s the real title.) Pre-chews her baby’s food (Seriously, that’s real too). Donald Trump Best Known For: The Apprentice, Blockbuster Failed Real Estate DealsScouting Report: Took his storied talent for glomming onto the controversy du jour into the vaccination discussion in 2012, when he told Fox News host Gretchen Carlson that he is a proponent of the “too many, too soon” argument against current vaccination schedules. When told that most physicians disagreed with him, responded with classic Trump nuance: “I couldn’t care less.” Mayim Bialik Best Known For: Blossom, The Big Bang TheoryScouting Report: Proudly anti-vaccine, as well as a celebrity endorser of prominent and problematic alternative medicine organization, the Holistic Moms Network. Drives vaccine proponents crazy by being an actual neuroscientist who maintains seemingly anti-science ideas on a variety of parenting topics. Robert Kennedy, Jr. Best Known For: Being Robert Kennedy’s Son And John F. Kennedy’s NephewScouting Report: Effusive conspiracy theorist whose anti-vaccinator cred was burnished by following McCarthy as the keynote speaker at the popular anti-vaccinator conference Autism One/Generation Rescue. He opted to go with a slightly more … Holocaust-y take that made McCarthy seem reasonable by comparison. Kristin Cavallari Best Known For: The HillsScouting Report: A liability on the anti-vaccination squad due to an inability to nail the team’s rhetoric, as evidenced by this quote from an interview last year on Fox Business: “There is a pediatric group called Homestead or, shoot, Homestead or Home First — now I have pregnancy brain, I got them confused — but they’ve never vaccinated any of their children and they’ve never had one case of autism.”
The Pro-Vaccinators
Kristen Bell Best Known For: Frozen, Veronica MarsScouting Report: Made headlines with her recent insistence that friends have a whooping cough vaccination before playing with her kids. Admits to having changed her position on vaccines after becoming a mother and learning about herd immunity: “I believe in trusting doctors, not know-it-alls.” Arguably the most powerful voice in the debate, since kids will do anything Anna says. Kim Kardashian Best Known For: Lots Of Reality TV Shows, Attempting To Break The InternetScouting Report: Lacks talent, but has influence in spades. Managed to use the vacuous platform of reality TV for good — just once — by making her daughter’s vaccination a focal point of an episode seen by millions. Forced sister to get vaccinated before visiting her baby and could deploy husband Kanye West to interrupt anti-vaccine speeches. Bill Gates Best Known For: Microsoft, Being The Richest Guy In The WorldScouting Report: Can light cigars with Trump’s entire net worth; has given $1.55 billion (with a “b”) to global vaccination efforts for the poor. Unlike Trump, knows better than to make himself the face of his own campaigns. Amanda Peet Best Known For: A Lot Like Love, TogethernessScouting Report: Prior to Bell’s power move last week, arguably the most vocal pro-vaccinator Hollywood mom, having come out in support as early as 2007. Spokesperson for the Every Child By Two campaign, and once called anti-vaxxer parents “parasites,” Peet is also married to Game Of Thrones maestro David Benioff, meaning she may have access to dragons. Sarah Michelle Gellar Best Known For: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Scooby DooScouting Report: Earned pro-vaccinator cred in 2013 when she advocated for adults getting the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis booster (TDaP) during a whooping cough epidemic. After 8 years as Buffy The Vampire Slayer, knows a few things about drawing blood. Keri Russell Best Known For: Felicity, The AmericansScouting Report: Walks the walk — after starring in PSAs for Parents Of Kids With Infectious Diseases (PKIDs) that promoted the pertussis vaccine booster for adults, she went and got one herself.
