‘CEO is an idiot’: US movie theaters slammed for not requiring visitors to wear face masks and calling issue ‘political’

Major US movie theater chains have said they won’t force customers to wear face masks when they reopen in a bid to avoid “political controversy.” Ironically, they’re now facing public calls for a boycott from concerned moviegoers.

AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas and Cinemark are set to fully reopen Mid-July – and unlike the visitors, the employees at these theater chains will all be required to wear protective equipment. Customers will only be ‘encouraged’ to do the same. On Thursday, AMC announced that they will sell masks at their theaters for $1.

This decision was initially met with great skepticism from the public on social media, but things got even worse when AMC CEO Adam Aron tried to explain the reasoning behind his company’s policy in an interview with Variety.

“We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy,” Aron said.

He said the company believes it would be “counterproductive” to require people who are opposed to the idea of using protective equipment to wear masks. However, Aron himself plans on “leading by example” and still putting on a face mask when going to AMC features. 

Apparently, it wasn’t enough of an explanation for people whose attention was caught by AMC CEO’s “political controversy” statement. 

Howard Dean, the former Democratic presidential candidate and governor of Vermont, called the CEO an “idiot” and suggested that going to these theaters would be a huge health risk. 

Film critic Dan Murrell blasted Aron’s decision as “irresponsible,” arguing that avoiding AMC is necessary to protect loved ones.

Another critic, Brendan Hodges, took the same stance, calling the theater management “buffoons and cowards.”

Meanwhile, Adam Parkhomenko, Democtatic political adviser, used some colorful language to thank AMC for letting people know they don’t care about their customers. 

It probably won’t take long until we hear about “new coronavirus outbreaks linked to AMC theaters,” YouTuber Sarah Schauer warned.

While most people were outraged by Aron’s statement, others pointed outthat Cinemark and Regal joined AMC on this “Island of Ignorant Decisions.” 

Many moviegoers said that they will probably avoid theaters for a long time, while some rekindled calls to boycott AMC.  

However, some people were on board with the decision of not requiring customers to wear masks, with supporters pointing out that using personal protection indeed should be a free choice. 

The latest survey conducted by Morning Consult indicated that only 22 percent of respondents would feel comfortable going to the movies when theaters reopen.

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