'Captain America' Actor Chris Evans Fights Back After Resurfaced Photo of Him Signing 'Missile' During USO Tour Goes Viral

In a recent Instagram post on Thursday, May 30, Chris Evans, known for his role as Captain America, addressed the misinformation surrounding a photograph depicting him signing what appeared to be a missile.

Evans clarified that the image was taken during a USO tour in 2016, where he joined a group of actors, athletes and musicians to show appreciation for service members.

After images of former presidential hopeful Nikki Haley surfaced online of her signing Israeli artillery shells, an older photo of Evans signing what appears to be a U.S. military weapon's shell was also brought up.

“There’s a lot of misinformation surrounding this picture,” Evans wrote via his Instagram Story. “The object I was asked to sign is not a bomb, or a missile, or a weapon of any kind,” he added. “It’s an inert object used for training or display purposes only.”

The photograph in question was captured in December 2016 during Evans' visit to the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to offer holiday wishes to deployed U.S. troops.

The trip, organized by the United Service Organizations (USO), also included Scarlett Johansson, Evans' costar from the Captain America and Avengers series.

A U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed that the item Evans signed was not an active weapon but an explosive ordnance disposal inert training aid only used for display and training purposes.

"The object Chris Evans is signing in the USO tour photo from 2016 is an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) inert training aid. The object is meant to model an artillery shell and is for display and training purposes only," the spokesperson stated.

Jennifer Passey, director of communications for the USO, corroborated the authenticity of the photo, confirming that it was indeed taken during the 2016 USO Holiday Tour by a Department of Defense photographer.

During the holiday tour, Evans, alongside former NBA player Ray Allen, country music artist Craig Campbell and Olympic gold medalist swimmer Maya DiRado, visited service people in Afghanistan, Turkey, Qatar and Germany.

The group engaged in various activities, including meeting with explosive ordinance disposal teams, witnessing military aircraft operations, interacting with missile brigades and participating in security forces K-9 demonstrations.

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The USO highlighted the positive impact of the 2016 holiday tour, as it boosted morale among the service members stationed in different locations around the world.

According to the U.S. Air Force, the trip aimed to show gratitude and support for the men and women serving in the armed forces.