More than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Hollywood stars are now slowly turning against the mandates. Among those becoming very vocal against the rules is Tilda Swinton.
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Fox News reports that during the 2023 South by Southwest Festival (SXSW), the Chronicles of Narnia star stated she will not be following COVID mandates on the set of her next project. “I’m actually just about to start shooting a picture in Ireland,” she explained during the event’s keynote address. “And I was told, full disclosure, and I’m sure this is being recorded – people in Ireland might hear it – to wear a mask at all times.”
Swinton then said that she’s not planning to wear a mask because she believes she’s “super healthy” and has had COVID “so many times” since the pandemic began. “And I’m so full of antibodies,” she continued to push on about her decision. “And I have faith.”
Meanwhile, Swinton explained why she believed COVID-19 had only “amplified” the film industry. “In many ways, I feel more than ever that cinema is evermore magic and carpet-like,” she said. “We’ve had different, not battles, but challenges, let’s say, that euphemism for battle… We’ve had different challenges in the last few years particularly, and some of them are lingering around people’s belief in sitting in big spaces.”
Tilda Swinton Celebrated Not Having to Wear Masks to Protect Herself From COVID
Along with talking about COVID mandates, Tilda Swinton reflected on not having to wear masks during the SXSW festival.
“A couple of years ago, we couldn’t imagine sitting in a room like this,” Swinton said to the mostly maskless audience. “Could we? And we did wonder. I did. I wondered how long it would be before the time we would be able to.”
Swinton also said that she had a concern about those who thought sitting in a movie theater was concerned obsolete due to the COVID pandemic. “But, then this magical thing happened, you know you asked anybody…what they really missed during the pandemic, and they said the same things. They said friends, family, live music, cinema. Those were the only things people missed. And a bit of travel as well.”
In regards to one “good thing” about the COVID pandemic, Swinton added, “It’s making people, you know, nay-say the people who said cinema was on the way out. It’s given it a bit of a boost.”
Others those who have been vocal against COVID mandates in Hollywood include Evangeline Lilly. In 2022, Lilly pleaded with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to negotiate with the group of truck protesters about vaccine mandates. She also shared that 2.3 million Canadians stand with the protesters about the country’s strict requirements regarding the vaccine.
