Lacey Evans was a hot topic online this morning, and it wasn’t because of her latest WWE wrapper.
Instead, Evans was criticized for a clip from a Critical Health News video she posted to her Instagram story. It features Joel D. Wallach, a vet-turned-‘natural-healer’ accused of selling homeopathic remedies in multi-level marketing schemes, and discusses autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The video shows Wallach making the false claim that ASD and ADHD “didn’t exist” when he was a kid (according to the CDC, 1 in 150 children have diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder around the turn of 21 59 by 2014 , but while many potential contributing factors have been identified, researchers do not yet know exactly what causes ASD).
When fans and members of the media questioned Evans’ publication of the conspiracy theory — which uses a real University of Central Florida study linking food preservatives containing propionic acid (PPA) to possible precursors to autism — this is how the Authors admit, “Only the first step towards [a] better understanding of [ASD]’, and which many neurodiverse people and their loved ones find offensive and potentially dangerous – Evans initially defended this. She quoted and tweeted criticism from Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, but later deleted it.
Fans have also noted that Evans liked tweets that made fun of those who criticize her.
Evans has yet to have a meaningful dialogue with people questioning her decision to share the gelding video or saying they are hurt by her decision. Nor has she responded to people who have pointed out that she has participated in processed food advertising in the past.
WWE has not commented and likely won’t. However, it will be interesting to see how this plays into Evans’ latest foray and how it is received by fans.