EXCLUSIVE: Unhappy days! Anti-masker Scott Baio hits back at the movie industry for shutting down his film production for breaching coronavirus safety measures on set and proclaims 'let me live my life'
Outspoken Hollywood star and anti-masker Scott Baio has hit back at the movie industry for shutting down his film production over coronavirus breaches, insisting 'let me live my life.'
Baio expressed his anger at not being allowed to work during the pandemic and insists he should be able to decide whether to wear a mask or not, no one else.
'Live your life, let me live mine. If I don’t want to wear a mask, it’s on me. You want to wear a mask, that’s on you. That’s fine,' he said.
In an animated interview while attending Hollywood's first red carpet film premiere, Baio said he felt castigated in some quarters in Hollywood for standing up for his views, labeling it 'facism'.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMailTV, Scott Baio, pictured with his daughter, hit back at the movie industry for halting production of his new movie for coronavirus breaches on set, saying 'Live your life, let me live mine'
Baio and daughter Bailey spoke Monday night as they walked the red carpet to support close friend David A R White, who is the star and executive producer of Beckman - a new Christian based action movie
The veteran actor and vocal Trump supporter feels that his freedoms are being thwarted.
'I’m an American and I’m free to do what I want, but unfortunately, we’re in a spot now where we’re not,' he said.
Baio's production for his new film Courting Mom & Dad was shut down in June over coronavirus breaches on set
'I want to be free, express my opinion and not want to have a brick thrown at my head for it.'
Baio's comments come as President Trump mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask and asked a crowd in Pittsburgh why the Democrat would spend 'all that money on the plastic surgery' to cover up his face Wednesday.
Baio - best known for his role as Chachi in hit sitcom Happy Days - admitted that his anti-mask comments would likely prompt outrage, but is adamant not to be held back from his right to free speech.
The 60-year-old actor came out firing about masks after his new film Courting Mom & Dad was shut down in June after it 'failed to comply with LA County Health Orders and SAG-AFTRA protocols in connection with COVID-19.'
Biao is unhappy with the decision: 'I get it. I’m cool. I want you to live your life. I don’t want you to live my life.
'I live my life, so don’t force your life on me. If you don’t want to come to work, okay, then we’ll have to figure something out. If you do want to come to work, great. That’s how I am about everything I do, whether I want to go into a store. If I don’t want to wear a mask, that’s on me. If I get the flu or the virus, it’s on me.'
Baio added that he feels that industry bodies, regulators and health organizations should allow him and other cast members the right to go mask free - even if it means being unpopular.
Child actors Everson White, Bailey Baio and Ryan Florida play Baio and Kristy Swanson's kids in Courting Mom and Dad
Baio - best known for his role as Chachi in hit sitcom Happy Days (pictured in 1978) - admitted that his anti-mask comments would likely prompt outrage, but is adamant not to be held back from his right to free speech
'I’m responsible for me. You’re not responsible for me. That’s what I would say. You don’t want to go to work? Stay home. You want to go to work? Go to work. And if you want to socially distance, that’s great too.
'Live your life. We beat SARS, H1N1, MERS, The Spanish Flu, the flu now - still dealing with it. People die from that and I don’t want anybody to die, but people die from viruses and I’m an old enough, grown man to know what I want to do and don’t want to do. That’s how I would handle it. It’s not about show business. It’s about life,' he said.
Baio has spoken out in the past about being a victim of an ongoing smear campaign, since he voiced his support for Donald Trump in 2016 and spoke at the Republican National Convention. The actor feels that his views do not get the coverage that others have in the past.
He reacted: 'That’s facism. That’s what they accuse me of for being a conservative American. I want people to live their life. I don’t care what you look like, what your lifestyle is, I don’t care. 'So if you want to try and shut me up, you’re going to have a problem, just like I would never shut you up.'
Baio and daughter Bailey spoke Monday night as they walked the red carpet to support close friend David A R White, who is the star and executive producer of Beckman - a new Christian based action movie.
Around 150 people gathered for the socially distanced outdoor screening of Beckman in a parking area of the Universal Hilton hotel in LA - around 200 meters from the front gates of shuttered theme park Universal Studios.
Beckman releases on DVD nationally as well as PPV & VOD on all digital platforms on September 21.
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