Actor Seth Rogen was among the many people who called out the 2021 Emmy Awards ceremony for seemingly failing to abide by COVID health and safety protocols, though he did not mention the hypocrisy of the elites getting to break rules that others are forced to follow.
Rogen was the first presenter of the night and used his moment to ask why the awards ceremony was not as advertised when it came to COVID restrictions.
“Let me start by saying, there’s way too many of us in this little room. What are we doing? They said this was outdoors. It’s not,” he said. “They lied to us. We’re in a hermetically-sealed tent right now. I would not have come to this. Why is there a roof? It’s more important that we have three chandeliers than that we make sure we don’t kill Eugene Levy tonight. That is what has been decided.”
“This is insane. I went from wiping my groceries to Paul Bettany sneezing in my face. So, that’s a big week! If anyone’s gonna sneeze in my face, Paul, I want it to be you,” he added.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has since said that the event didn’t violate COVID-19 guidelines because it followed the rules in place for films and productions, which have “additional safety modifications” intended for “controlled interactions.”
“The Emmy Award Show is a television production, and persons appearing on the show are considered performers,” read the statement, according to Fox News. “All persons appearing on or in the audience of the Emmy Award Show were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.”
As The Daily Wire reported, other presenters at the show did not take kindly to Rogen’s “criticism.”
The show’s DJ Reggie Watts added, “Despite what Seth might have said, we’re going to celebrate and party, but while we’re doing that we’re absolutely following all the health and safety guidelines that some really smart people asked us to do to keep us safe from COVID.”
Cedric the Entertainer chimed in, “It actually feels amazing in here unlike what Seth (Rogen) was talking about. It feels good. We’re all vaxxed. We had to get vaxxed to come here. I got vaxxed. I did not have a reaction like Micki Minaj’s cousin’s friend. I got Pfizer because I’m bougie. Pfizer is the Neiman Marcus of vaccines. Moderna, that’s Macy’s. Johnson & Johnson, that’s TJ Maxx.”
The Emmys took place in a region with strict COVID restrictions, yet celebrities appeared to flout those restrictions and fall back on the fact that they are vaccinated, even though cities with strict mask guidelines have set them in place regardless of vaccination status.
Just a week earlier, numerous elites — including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY – attended the annual Met Gala. Just like the Emmys, the Met Gala was indoors, yet celebrity attendees did not wear masks while those serving them were required to do so, as one Twitter user noted.
“Why is it that only ‘the help’ have to wear masks at the Emmy’s? First it was the Met Gala. And now this. Seems that Covid-19 gives you a pass if you are wearing black tie or a designer frock. Or maybe it is just one rule for one group … and one for another,” the user wrote.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) also called out the celebrities, saying they are the “same liberals [who] sanctimoniously mock Republicans for giving parents a choice about masks.”
Celebrities aren’t the only ones ignoring COVID rules forced on other people. Politicians have also ignored their own rules. Most recently, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was photographed dancing and singing at a jazz club without her mask. When asked about it, Breed lamented the “fun police” and said that she “got up and started dancing because I was feeling the spirit and I wasn’t thinking about a mask.” Other people aren’t allowed such an excuse.
This article has been updated to include additional information.