One of the biggest bummers of the weekend was news that Emilio Estevez would not be returning to The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. On Monday, Deadline reported Estevez’s comments on leaving the show. He stated,
“not anti-vaxx”, before relating his own history as a Covid-19 “long-hauler”
On March 17, 2020 I got word I had indeed contracted Covid 19. Thankfully I refrained from visiting my elderly parents and others until I received my results. I had discussions with doctors and contact tracing personnel from the L.A. County Department of Health.
I suffered the summer and fall of 2020 from what we now know as “Long Haul Syndrome.”
He went on to explain that he felt uncomfortable returning to the set in August 2020, but did so anyway:
So, I returned to Vancouver. I followed the Canadian quarantine mandate as well as the strict “Zone A” on set Covid protocols. I did not complain, nor did I release my diagnosis to the public. I wanted to try and preserve the show morale and be a leader, however, while still suffering from Long Haul Syndrome. The legacy of the franchise was more important to me than my own health.
In retrospect, I wrongly chose to protect the show over being transparent about having contracted Covid-19. I may have provided another public example to wit, how we are all vulnerable to this deadly disease.
The quoted “anonymous sources,” producers and show runners all know the truth.
Simply put, I am anti-bully.
