Arnold Schwarzenegger Slammed After Blasting Anti-Maskers With ‘Screw Your Freedom’ Comment

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been on the receiving end of some backlash after sharing his feelings about people who refuse to wear masks amid the rise of COVID-19 cases fueled by the Delta variant.

On Wednesday, the former governor of California spoke with CNN’s Bianna Golodryga and Alexander Vindman about COVID-19 misinformation and discussed his opinion of people who believe wearing a mask infringes upon their rights.

“Screw your freedom. Because with freedom comes obligations and responsibilities. You cannot just say, ‘I have the right to X, Y, and Z.’ When you affect other people, that is when it gets serious,” Schwarzenegger said.

Yesterday while I was talking with @AVindman and @biannagolodryga about Alex’s new book, I was asked about my comment about COVID misinformation that all of you are sharing. Here was my answer: pic.twitter.com/8LKhPIJ1Eu
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) August 11, 2021

Schwarzenegger went on to compare the disregard for mask mandates to violating traffic laws.

“You cannot say, ‘No one is going to tell me that I’m going to stop here, that I have to stop at this traffic light here. I’m going to go right through it.’ Then you kill someone else, and then it is your doing,” he said.

“This is the same thing with the virus,” the actor continued. “You cannot go not put the mask on because when you breathe, you can infect someone else. And you can infect someone that then gets sick and may die.”

Following his comments, Schwarzenegger’s name became a trending topic. Some slammed the “Terminator” star while reminding him of his Austrian background and privileged Hollywood lifestyle.

“Well, I guess I’m no longer an Arnold fan. Screw my freedom? Screw you,” read one tweet.

Arnold comes from a place that knows all too well what real loss of freedom looks like.
— BeaglesResist ☮🇺🇦🌻 (@BeaglesResist) August 12, 2021

For someone like Arnold, their lives are not affected by the lockdowns hardly at all. Fame makes your life restricted as it is. Doesn’t have to worry about $. Has servants. He can jump on his private plane, fly to one of his many massive houses, and live life as normal.
— Matthew Marsden (@matthewdmarsden) August 12, 2021

Another post appeared to suggest that Schwarzenegger’s comment reminded them of Adolf Hitler.

"Arnold Schwarzenegger commented ‘screw your freedom’ when referring to those refusing to follow CDC guidelines. Sounds like another famous Austrian from the 1930’s,” it read.

Schwarzenegger has been an advocate for following COVID-19 guidelines to stop the spread and end the virus. In January, he shared a video of himself receiving the coronavirus vaccine on Twitter and encouraged his followers to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated.