Tony Rebel Squares Off With Followers Over Anti-Vax Protest Video
Fresh Vegetable artist Tony Rebel squared off with some of his Instagram followers on Saturday after he praised the anti-vax protesters who appeared in a video clip of a gathering in May Pen, Clarendon.
“Hold on deh !!! The Jamaican Spirit is alive and well Preasure buss pipe. 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🎤,” Rebel, who has staunchly opposed the COVID-19 vaccine, had captioned the video which he shared on his Instagram page.
The Manchester native appeared to have a response to almost every dissenting comment which ensued, as his post lit up with responses.
One follower only1_keblejr, was among the first detractor. He accused the Penthouse star of being a pretender. “Why don’t you support protests against the 1600 plus murders per year in Jamaica? I don’t see any entertainers posting about the little kids who are being mercilessly killed. But you all posting and advocating about not getting the vaccine? Fake woke I call it!” he wrote.
Tony Rebel’s response to the accusation was sharp.
“@only1_keblejr are you looking at what every entertainer do ???
Hot for entertainer!!!! Why the government can’t put the same effort around stopping as the V ??? Hmmm. Crime pays ???” he wrote.
Another commenter nicholstheresa, who posted that: “This is so ludicrous, I hope they don’t go to the hospitals when they get infected’ also got a dismissive response from the Rebel.
“@nicholstheresa hopes and dreams are different from ways and means,” he replied.
The Sweet Jamaica artist also sought to point out that one of the reasons that he was in support of the protest, was because he realized that people’s rights were slowly being trampled upon.
“The Science is fluid right now that’s understandable! My greatest fear is that people’s Rights are being taken away from them. Separation is the order of the day. Vax and unvaccinated are all still vulnerable. That’s where I work from. How scientific was the Tuskeegee experiment ? The word eugenics still in the dictionary and Still working Among us. We can’t just believe we must know !!” he noted.
He also added: “The makers of the V need it to be taken !! They don’t give a F!! And If you dear to ask any question There is a label for u!! Not uncle but !! Lol,” he wrote, implicitly referring to the term “anti-vaxxer”.
In mid-January this year, Tony Rebel had publicly declared that he would not be taking the COVID-19 vaccine, when it arrives in Jamaica even if rejecting it, hinders him from travelling overseas.
Speaking during an interview with entertainment journalist Anthony Miller on Television Jamaica’s Entertainment Report, back then Rebel, said he had numerous misgivings about the vaccine.
He had also expressed confidence that the natural foods which he eats daily, were quite capable of giving him the immuno-protective wherewithal to combat the infection, in the event he became exposed it.
“First of all, yuh caan give mi sinting dat all of the elements or all of the substance that you take to make it, is detrimental. Mercury… aluminum is in there.., they don’t have enough time to really test this vaccine to see what would really be the consequence of it,” he had said.
When quizzed by Miller as to whether or not he was indulging in ‘conspiracy theories’, Rebel had said he was not. He, had however, glossed over Miller’s remarks that he had received vaccines long ago as a child, without any problems or after-effects, and said he had been studying about vaccines since he was 18 years old.
The Teach the Children artist had also declared then and there, that he was going to make a bold statement to show how serious he was about not being vaccinated: “Hold on deh, meck mi look inna di camera deh. Mi nah, expletive deleted, teck oonu vaccine. Fire bun!” he had stated.