L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti Defends Maskless Photo at NFC Game By Claiming He Held His Breath

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti attempted to justify his masklessness at the NFC’s Championship game by claiming he was holding his breath in front of the camera.

Garcetti has been the subject of considerable public outrage in recent days because of photos he took with Magic Johnson at SoFi Stadium over the weekend. The former basketball star posted a series of photos from the Rams-49ers game on social media, and they show Johnson hanging out with Garcetti, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed while none of them were wearing masks.

Los Angeles County’s Covid protocols require people to wear a mask at large-scale public events unless they are actively eating or drinking. SoFi Stadium reinforces these rules on their website’s informational page.

As Johnson’s photos got picked up by the media, Garcetti and his fellow public officials were excoriated by critics accusing them of imposing mask mandates on people while flouting their own rules. Asked to explain himself, Garcetti told local reporters he held his breath after removing his mask for the photo.

“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.”

Newsom has also come under plenty of fire over the maskless photos, with critics recalling his 2020 scandal at the French Laundry. Newsom admitted it was a mistake taking his mask off, and he encouraged Californians to keep wearing them.

Watch above, via ABC7.