Sponsor drops Schwarzenegger over rant about anti-maskers
A bodybuilding sponsor has dropped actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a spokesperson over his recent rant against anti-maskers, USA Today reported.
A spokesperson for the sports supplement company REDCON1 told The Hill that they chose to discontinue their partnership with the former California governor because of his “anti-America” comments, also pulling out of the Schwarzenegger bodybuilding event next month.
REDCON1 founder Aaron Singerman took to Instagram to address dropping the “Terminator” actor as a sponsor, saying that as a “patriotic pro-freedom brand,” they “can’t support his opinion with our dollars.”
In an interview earlier this month, Schwarzenegger told CNN host Bianca Golodryga and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman that people who still are in denial about the COVID-19 pandemic need a reality check, calling people who are still anti-masks “schmucks.”
“You have the freedom to wear no mask — but you know something? You’re a schmuck for not wearing a mask. Because you are supposed to protect your fellow Americans around you,” Schwarzenegger said in the interview.
Schwarzenegger’s comments and REDCON1’s move come as the U.S. is currently dealing with another surge in COVID-19 infections due to the highly contagious delta variant hammering unvaccinated individuals.
