Garcetti Defends Taking Off His Mask Off for Photo Op: ‘I Hold My Breath’

Eric Garcetti told reporters he was holding his breath to take his mask off at the Rams-49ers game last Sunday.

QUICK FACTS:
  • Garcetti, who once turned off water and power to homes where residents violated his lockdown mandate, is defending himself after being caught in photos maskless at the NFC Championship game.
  • “I wore my mask the entire game. When people ask for a photograph, I hold my breath and I put it here and people can see that,” Garcetti said. “There is a zero percent chance of infection from that.”
  • Governor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco Mayor London Breed were also spotted without facial coverings at the game at SoFi Stadium.
  • All three politicians are facing heavy backlash, many accusing them of hypocrisy for enforcing some of the strictest mask mandates in the nation, yet failing to follow the rules themselves.
GARCETTI ON TAKING HIS MASK OFF:

“If it makes you and everyone else happy – or even the photographs with people where literally I’m holding my breath for two seconds – I won’t even do that.”

BACKGROUND:
  • Twitter users took to the platform to express their anger towards Garcetti, posting videos and quotes from him throughout the pandemic.
  • “Eric Garcetti hopes you’re dumb enough to believe that he held his breath every single time he took his mask off at the Rams game,” one user tweeted.
  • Despite Garcetti’s inability to properly adhere to his own mandates, Los Angeles officials have announced they are urging fans to follow strict mask rules at the upcoming Super Bowl next weekend.

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