Los Angeles County Defends Emmys, Says Mask Exceptions Are Fine for ‘Television Productions’

(L-R) Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Okieriete Onaodowan, Phillipa Soo, Jon Kamen, Thomas Kail, Dave Sirulnick, and Jonathan Groff, winners of the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) grant for 'Hamilton,' airs successful the property country during the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards astatine L.A. LIVE successful Los Angeles, Calif., connected Sept. 19, 2021. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Los Angeles County responded to disapproval that the Emmy Awards, successful which mostly maskless celebrities attended, did not travel due COVID-19 protocols and didn’t abide by the county’s disguise mandate.

The Emmys, it said, are a “television production,” which exempts the lawsuit from region rules astir masks.

“The Emmy Award Show is simply a tv production, and persons appearing connected the amusement are considered performers,” the connection said. “All persons appearing connected oregon successful the assemblage of the Emmy Award Show were afloat vaccinated against COVID-19.”

County officials said that the organizers of the awards banquet for tv had “reached retired to Public Health successful beforehand to stock their information protocols, which exceeded the baseline requirements for tv and movie productions” earlier adding that “careful readying earlier ample events is indispensable to guarantee that each wellness and information requirements are adequately addressed.”

Los Angeles County this summertime re-imposed its disguise mandates and claimed it was to halt the dispersed of the Delta COVID-19 variant. And earlier this month, the region announced it would instrumentality a vaccine passport mandate connected galore indoor events.

The Los Angeles County Public Health website (pdf) currently stipulates that “EVERYONE, careless of vaccination status, indispensable deterioration a mask” astatine “all indoor nationalist settings, venues, gatherings, and nationalist and backstage businesses successful Los Angeles County.” The website makes nary notation of movie and tv productions.

Scenes captured from the Emmys, which was held wrong a ample tent, showed actors, musicians, athletes, and different celebrities without masks connected portion Emmy unit members and reporters had to deterioration them. The incidental drew important disapproval connected Twitter, with immoderate complaining that celebrities are creating a treble standard.

Actor Seth Rogen, a presenter astatine the show, offered antagonistic feedback. “Let maine commencement by saying determination is mode excessively galore of america successful this small room! What are we doing?” Rogen said. “They said this was outdoors! It’s not! They lied to us.”

Emmys big Cedric the Entertainer aboriginal said during the amusement that attendees had to beryllium vaccinated to attend.

A akin script unfolded earlier this period during the Met Gala successful New York City, wherever manner designers, models, and immoderate elected officials attended without masks portion staffers and media members had to person them on.

COVID-19 is the unwellness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.