Anti-mask message falsely attributed to actor Tim Roth
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on August 5, 2021 at 18:17
- 2 min read
- By AFP USA, Manon JACOB,
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
“Wear a mask or don't," says text accompanying a photo of Roth in a July 30, 2021 Facebook post.
"YOU'VE EITHER HAD COVID, OR YOU'LL GET COVID. YOU'LL EITHER DIE OR BE LIKE THE 99.5 % AND RECOVER. IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. YOUR GOVERNMENT CANNOT KEEP YOU SAFE FROM A VIRUS. BUT THEY CAN TAKE YOUR LIBERTY. SO STAY HOME. WEAR A MASK. CONVINCE YOURSELF YOU'RE SAFE. LET THE REST OF US LIVE OUR LIVES," it says.
The text and image have appeared on social media for at least a year, as seen in this July 2020 Facebook post, which came during widespread mask mandates that some cast as an encroachment on personal freedom.
The US lifted indoor mask guidance for the vaccinated in May, but reinstated it in late July for people in high-risk areas. The post with Roth's picture is now circulating again, but he did not make the remark.
"Someone has clearly made this up. Tim has never said anything like this," his spokeswoman Staci Wolfe from Polaris Public Relations told AFP.
The actor has previously expressed support for mask use, posting on Instagram in 2020: "Stay safe all! Wear a mask."
An online search also did not reveal any record of the actor making the anti-mask remark. The text appears to have been added to the photo of Roth using meme generator Mematic, which is referenced in the bottom left corner of the image.
AFP Fact Check has previously debunked messages incorrectly associated with celebrities here, here, and here.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
