Dystopian shows completely underestimated the beyond f’ed up way that both the elites and the stupidest among us would respond in a pandemic. (I realize that distinction is muddled and they’re often the same.) I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but it still floors me every time. Enter the Academy Awards, which are taking place on March 27th this year at their typical location at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. As far as we know they will not be distanced or limited in attendance. Last year’s Oscars were in a new location at Union Station with very few people and a kind of intimate nightclub vibe. (The 2020 Academy Awards took place in February before lockdown.) Despite the fact that the pandemic is not yet over, the ceremony will return to business as usual. Deadline reports that they’re not requiring masks or proof of vaccination. They’re only requiring a negative PCR or rapid antigen test on the day of the event. It’s OK because it’s all in accordance with LA County law, which has exceptions for performances.

Oscar attendees will likely not have to mask up, after all. While the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has not yet made public its plans around masking at the March 27 ceremony, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department offered some hope today that all those famous faces will not be covered up on TV.

In response to a Deadline query about masking at the event, the LADPH issued the following statement:

“As current rates of community transmission continue to decrease, it is likely that the threshold for Indoor Mega Events will soon increase to 1,000 attendees. Public Health will work with the Oscars on their COVID protocols in-line with what is required for television productions.”

That last line in the above statement is key.

Currently, L.A. requires masks in most indoor public spaces and at all indoor “mega-events” with over 500 attendees. That’s even as California announced it will ease state requirements. (Local authorities like L.A. can be more restrictive than the state.) The catch with the Oscars is, awards shows aren’t considered “mega-events” under L.A. Public Health rules. They fall under the protocols for TV productions.

When the Emmys took place in September, there was a hue and cry over images of unmasked celebrities in crowded rooms. L.A. officials later explained the distinction between mega-events and TV productions allowed for the doffing of masks at the ceremony.

“LA County’s Health Officer order requires everyone to wear a mask indoors, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated. However, exceptions are made for film, television, and music productions, as additional safety modifications are made for these controlled interactions,” the Health Department said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

“The Emmy Award Show is a television production, and persons appearing on the show are considered performers. All persons appearing on or in the audience of the Emmy Award Show were fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Also, Public Health was informed that each of these persons had a verified negative PCR test 48 hours prior to the show.”

The current Return to Work agreement allows for performers to be maskless while performing.

As far as vaccinations, Deadline confirmed yesterday that the Academy will not be requiring shots, just a recent negative test. That’s well within the rules for both TV productions and indoor public gatherings.

[From Deadline]

This is tone deaf and despicable. Almost a million people have died of covid in the US and the Oscars aren’t even requiring people to be vaccinated! They’re not going to wear masks because we need to see the celebrities’ faces, right? We want to see celebrities modeling good behavior. Many of us are still avoiding large unmasked gatherings because we are concerned about loved ones and vulnerable people including children under five who cannot get vaccinated. The Oscars are going ahead like everything is the same and nothing has changed. I hope Seth Rogen is right and that they’re are no longer relevant beyond the industry. He was right about the Emmys being unsafe last September.

In Japan, with a population of 125.8 million (that number is 38% of the population of the US) under 20,000 people have died of covid. In South Korea, a population of 52 million, just over 7,000 people have died. [source: Google covid data] Of course those countries had widespread testing before we did in the US but more than that people also regularly wear masks. If the Oscars don’t require proof of vaccination, they should a least have attendees wear masks. People can still test negative and spread the virus.

Variety has an explainer for why the Oscars don’t have to require proof of vaccination when you can’t go to the movies or get a haircut in LA without it.

Photos credit: Avalon.red