Grant Wahl's widow Celine Gounder faced death threats from antivaxxers after journo's shocking death
DOHA, QATAR: Celine Gounder, Grant Wahl's widow, has spoken out against the anti-vax misconceptions surrounding the untimely death of Wahl and disclosed that she had received rape and murder threats after he died.
On December 9, Wahl died unexpectedly at the age of 49 from a "aortic aneurysm that ruptured," during the Argentina vs Netherlands World Cup game that took place in Qatar. Gounder, who is a doctor and epidemiologist, has disclosed that while she was grieving her husband's death, she was subjected to nasty harassment by critics of the Covid-19 vaccination. She revealed in an article for the New York Times that she had received rape and death threats in the wake of Wahl's death. The 45-year-old started off by saying that she had received an email with the subject line that read, "Now you understand that you killed your poor husband. Karma is a b***h." Gounder claimed that the persistent misinformation about Damar Hamlin's collapse "broke the dam" and pushed her to speak out at last.
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Gounder charged "disinformation profiteers" with exploiting Wahl and Hamlin's terrible cardiac arrest deaths for their own "personal gain." In addition, she claimed that they "re-traumatize" families, "compromise[ing] our ability to interpret information and distinguish truth from lies and putting all of us at risk."
Gounder argued that "there is no increased risk of death from non-Covid causes after Covid vaccination," claiming that she was familiar with the anti-vax "playbook" from her participation on the Covid Advisory Board during the Biden-Harris transition.
Gounder emphasized that no credible medical or public health authorities have supported the claim that her husband's death was caused by ingestion of the Covid vaccine. To preserve Wahl's legacy, she also admitted that she wanted the autopsy results to be "unimpeachable."
Gounder shared Wahl's autopsy results with the public because she believed that "pairing facts with empathy is the best way to disempower trolls." Furthermore, she said that in addition to continuing to speak up in honor of and defense of Wahl's legacy, she is also using her grief to "protect the public's health against those who would profit from the suffering of others."
Wahl's brother Eric suspected foul play as soon as news of his brother's death became known. This was because Wahl had previously been expelled from a stadium for wearing a rainbow emblem on his T-shirt. However, he denied this claim after learning that his brother had a heart problem that had not been diagnosed.
Gounder explained that her brother-in-law's false statements were a result of his own grief, and admitted that "even those of us who love Grant" clung to our own stories to explain the terrible and unexpected events.