Key Points:
- Woody Harrelson used his fifth Saturday Night Live appearance to push COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
- The actor and comedian used a drug cartel analogy to infer people were forced to take drugs to receive freedoms.
- Mixed reactions followed on social media, including from Elon Musk, who applauded the messaging.
Award-winning actor Woody Harrelson has raised eyebrows by appearing to push COVID-19 and anti-vaccine conspiracies during an appearance on United States TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL).
In the final few lines of his six-minute opening monologue, Harrison inferred that was a worldwide scam to control people's freedom by forcing them to receive constant vaccinations.
The actor, who laced his speech with jokes about marijuana and drug importation, said the last time he appeared on SNL was in 2019 when he was given a film script with a "crazy idea".
"So, the movie goes like this: the biggest drug cartels in the world get together and buy up all the media and all the politicians and force all the people in the world to stay locked in their homes," he said.
"And people can only come out if they take the cartel's drugs and keep taking them over and over.
"I threw the script away. I mean, who's going to believe that crazy idea?"
While the audience laughed during the story, there was pointed silence after his punch line.
It was Harrelson's fifth time hosting the popular weekly comedy show.
The skit received mixed reviews, with scores of conservative personalities applauding Harrelson's monologue, while others described it as "anti-vax nonsense".
Among those who approved of Harrelson's message was Twitter CEO and billionaire Elon Musk.
"Good one," Mr Musk wrote on his social media platform.
During the pandemic, medical experts have repeatedly said the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks.
One user described his appearance as a "truth bomb", but others have pledged to boycott the program for giving Harrelson a platform. He has previously expressed hesitation towards on social media.
Harrelson contributed to a podcast with conservative comedian Bill Maher last year, where he discussed his distrust of Big Pharma and ridiculed medical professionals warning against the use of to combat COVID-19.
"The last people I would trust with my health is Big Pharma and big government because neither one of those strike me as caring entities ... They're all about profit," he said.
