Hollywood star and the former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger said “screw your freedom” while demanding people get vaccinated, wear a mask and socially distance in a discussion he posted Wednesday.
“There is a virus here. It kills people, and the only way we prevent it is get vaccinated, get 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.’ No, screw your freedom,” Schwarzenegger said.
“With freedom comes obligations and responsibilities,” Schwarzenegger continued. “We cannot just say ‘I have the right to do x, y and z.’ When you effect other people, that is when it gets serious.”
Schwarzenegger offered his remarks about COVID-19 restrictions while participating in a discussion about retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s new memoir. Vindman, a former National Security Council member, rose to prominence after he testified in impeachment hearings against then-President Donald Trump in November of 2019.
During the discussion, Schwarzenegger went on to compare COVID-19 regulations to traffic lights, asserting that both are in place to protect people and reduce deaths.
“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.”
Earlier in the clip, Schwarzenegger called on people to listen to “the experts” like White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“First of all you have to understand that as soon as the virus happened, and we finally have people, more and more people from government have acknowledged the fact that there is a virus…that’s when I realized that we all have to now come together on this thing, and so I started putting posts out there about washing your hands regularly, and wearing a mask and do social distancing, and to follow the kind of rules that the experts put out there,” Schwarzenegger said.
Schwarzenegger also criticized people who are skeptical of the COVID-19 vaccines and the efficacy of masks and social distancing, asserting that they are “living in denial.”
“I just think that people ought to be reminded over and over that the experts are saying that we have to wear masks, especially when we go indoors,” he said. “That the experts are saying we still should wash our hands regularly, we should still do social distancing, especially now with the comeback of the virus.”
