The trailer for “Died Suddenly”, a widely discredited anti-vaccine film, is three minutes long. Heather McDonald collapses on stage.
The film’s mission statement is outlined in the background by a voiceover of “whistleblowers”.
It’s the new bullet. It’s the new type of warfare,” the voice in a darkened room utters about the Covid vaccine.
Another says, “The dead cannot speak for themselves.
McDonald’s was shocked to discover that McDonald can’t speak for her own self. She recently sat in her Woodland Hills studio, California, preparing her weekly podcast. Since February 2022, when she was unable to speak on her own at the Tempe Improv in Arizona, she has published it every week.
Videos of her fall have been viewed millions upon millions on social media. Joe Rogan discussed it on his podcast. Fox News published an article on her collapse. tweeted “Comedian collapses stage, fractures skull after declaring that she was triple vaxxed.”
McDonald’s 52-year-old mother said that she is getting used to being called a piece propaganda.
McDonald’s said, “Sometimes there will be people who say: ‘Oh, my God, I just seen you on something’,” in an interview with her bright pink podcast studio. “And I’m like: ‘Sadly I know what it’s. It’s me fainting.
McDonald’s, along with a few other people whose medical history is shown in the trailer of the anti-vaccine conspiracy film, didn’t die from the Covid-19 vaccination. Many of them live with strange internet fame. This is a status that was not even possible a few years back.
The film was debunked by Reuters, FactCheck.org. The film’s problems raised concerns from anti-vaccine activists who feared it would make them look bad. Keyontae Johnson, the person in the trailer immediately after McDonald’s, died on December 12, 2020. This was days before Covid vaccines were widely available in the U.S. Johnson, who was featured immediately after McDonald’s in the trailer, collapsed on Dec. 12, 2020. This was days before Covid vaccines were widely available or widely administered in the U.S. (Johnson was later diagnosed with a non-related heart condition to the Covid vaccine.
This has not stopped “Died Suddenly” from becoming a popular anti-vaccine film title. After the film’s release, #DiedSuddenly became a trending hashtag on Twitter. It is now a common internet meme that appears whenever high-profile medical events are broadcast on TV or in public.
McDonald’s recalls that she was dizzy when she started her set. If she hadn’t been performing in front of family and friends for the first time since the outbreak, she would have sat down and not tried to battle through it. Doctors performed a series of tests on McDonald’s, and concluded that there was no underlying condition. They also said that McDonald’s fainting spell wasn’t related to the vaccine. McDonald’s suffered a fractured skull, concussion and has not had any lingering problems.
The video of her fall quickly went viral online. McDonald’s released the video and an update from her doctors on her social media accounts to clarify any confusion days after her collapse. Although she initially joked that she didn’t mind the attention, she soon became overwhelmed by conspiracy theories about herself and her health.
McDonald’s said that she was able to quickly clarify her health status with her listeners and asked what it’s like for people who can’t talk on their podcast and tell “I’m fine”?
The video of her fall continues to circulate online, even though it is on McDonald’s platform. Video’s tagged with “Heather McDonald collapsing” have more than 17 million views on TikTok. These videos often outnumber her recently posted content in search result results she posts to her 370,000 fans.
McDonald’s joked, “That’s what really saddened me: I thought that I was a bit more well-known than that.”
McDonald’s has struggled to counter the viral misinformation, even among her friends.
Joe Rogan, whom she met backstage at comedy shows in Los Angeles, showed the McDonald’s meltdown on his podcast, and also mentioned the vaccine.
McDonald’s replied, “I DM’d” him.
McDonald’s claimed Rogan didn’t respond to her message. Rogan and Spotify (his exclusive podcast distributor) did not respond to email requests for comment.
McDonald’s, who is fully vaccinated, stated that she has tried to remain apolitical and not mention politics in her podcast, which focuses exclusively on gossip from reality TV, since 2016.
She said, “I’m not politically involved and get thrown into the thing just to do my job and work.”
McDonald’s said that things began to get back to normal after the initial attention. Nine months later, the news of her death, “Died Suddenly,” was published. She was now back in the spotlight of the internet.
Despite repeated and immediate debunking, it has had an impact on the anti-vaccine community, even though Stew Peters, its producer, had to come up more bizarre explanations for its errors.
Peters promoted the conspiracy theory that Buffalo Bills’ player Damar Hamlin, who died on Jan. 2, after being struck in the chest during “Monday Night Football“, was either dead or being kept away as part a global conspiracy theory to safeguard vaccine makers.
Peters repeated his belief that Hamlin was replaced by a “body duplicate” when Hamlin reappearred in public interviews.
Peters has shifted to conspiracy theories about other diseases he believes the vaccine may be responsible for, despite the main thesis of the documentary — that vaccines are causing mass deaths in young people.
Peters posted earlier this month that MRNA vaccine-infected men “are essentially unfertile and their penises rotting off”.
Peters didn’t respond to a request to comment.
Peters and “Died Suddenly,” crew still have a following with legislators. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) appeared on Peters’ video podcast on March 14. A scroll urging viewers to view “Died Suddenly” was displayed above.
The film’s interest was renewed when a Idaho state senator and representative introduced a bill making the administration of MRNA vaccinations (the type used to kill Covid-19) a misdemeanor.
State Sen. Tammy Nichols has repeatedly asked her Facebook followers and constituents to “Die Suddenly” as a co-author of the bill.
“Everyone is talking About Died Suddenly On Rumble. She wrote the following on Nov. 22: “Powerful!” She added, “Watch Died Suddenly” the next day. Nichols did not respond to a request of comment but she used #DiedSuddenly in February.
Dr. Eric Burnett is an intern medicine doctor at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He has made several TikTok videos in an attempt to counter the lies in “Died Suddenly.”
Burnett stated that people now confuse disinformation about vaccines’ potential harm with actual Covid-related illness threats.
“Anti-vaxxers” and myth-spreaders operate in a bubble that doesn’t require evidence. Burnett stated that they could say anything they like, with no consequences.
Despite being repeatedly debunked, “Died Suddenly” lies about the videos in it will not die. They may even morph into new lies.
Heather McDonald performs in Texas in 2019.
Amy Harris / Invision / AP file
McDonald’s claimed that the release of “Died Suddenly,” coincided with a second wave in attention and abuse. People started posting about how McDonald’s, a Catholic practicing Catholic, was “flicked” by God because of the joke she attempted to tell right before she collapsed. In which she claimed Jesus loved her, she had not yet received Covid-19.
“They say something like, You shouldn’t be alive because of the vaccine’ or You shouldn’t be alive because your jokes about Jesus’.” McDonald’s said.
McDonald’s claimed that she was just left with people asking her about her faith, despite millions of views on social media platforms. This is part of a growing conspiracy theory where it’s not clear if she’s still alive.
“I’m in this business. She said, “I’d love to be known.” “But this was not any bonus for my at all.”
