Arnold Schwarzeneggeris not mincing his words when it comes to his thoughts on Americans refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
The actor and former California governor, 74, delivered a heated message during an interview with CNN Wednesday, during which he urged people to get the shot and help stop the spread of COVID-19.
“People should know there is a virus here. It kills people, and the only way we prevent it is to get vaccinated, wear masks, do social distancing, washing your hands all the time, and not just to think about, ‘Well, my freedom is being kind of disturbed here,'” he said, perTheHollywoodReporter. “No, screw your freedom, because with freedom comes obligations and responsibilities.”
TheTerminatorstar added, “We cannot just say, ‘I have the right to do X, Y and Z.’ When you infect other people, that is when it gets serious.”
Schwarzenegger has been vocal about the importance of COVID-19 precautions from the very start of the pandemic, when hepostponed his Arnold Sports Festivalin early March 2020 over coronavirus concerns.
Arnold Schwarzenegger.Dave J Hogan/Getty
After calling off the annual event, Schwarzenegger realized the importance of coming together to fight COVID-19 and “face the fact that this is here, and this is going to grow and it’s going to expand, it’s going to really affect a lot of people’s lives,” he said.
Despite his own efforts, as well as national campaigns and guidance from the White House and the CDC, Schwarzenegger said plenty of people still “live in denial” and refuse to wear masks or social distance.
“I just think that people ought to be reminded over and over that the experts are saying that they have to wear masks, and especially when you go indoors,” he told CNN.
The actor likened adhering to COVID-19 precautions to stopping at a traffic light, explaining, “You cannot say, ‘No one is going to tell me that I’m going to stop here, that I have to stop at this traffic light here. I’m going to go right through it.’ Yeah, then you kill someone else.”
“So this is the same thing with the virus. You cannot go and not put a mask on because when you breathe, you can infect someone else, and you can infect someone that then gets sick and may die,” he said. “This is why I think we all have to work together on this.”
“We have to come together, rather than fighting and always just saying, ‘According to my principles, this is a free country, and I’m going to have the freedom to wear no mask.’ Yeah, you have the freedom to wear no mask, but you know something? You’re a schmuck for not wearing a mask because you’re supposed to protect your fellow members around you,“he said. “It’s just that simple.”
Sam Tabone/WireImage
His CNN appearance is the latest effort from Schwarzenegger to unite Americans in the fight against COVID-19. In March 2020, heused his mini pony and donkey to film a PSAurging people to stay home, anddonated $1 millionto a COVID-19 medical supply relief fund later that month. When it was his turn to get the vaccine, Schwarzeneggerfilmed the processand posted it to Twitter.
Last June, Schwarzeneggervoiced his supportfor California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate requiring citizens to wear masks in public.
“This is 100% the right move. This will help us beat this terrible virus,” he wrote onTwitter. “The science is unanimous — if we all wear masks, we slow down the spread and can reopen safely. It’s not a political issue. Anyone making it a political issue is an absolute moron who can’t read.”
source: people.com
