Gov. Gavin Newsom is being criticized by Fox News and other conservative voices for a photo taken with Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson at Sunday’s NFL playoff game in Los Angeles.
Newsom said Monday he was “very judicious” about wearing his mask at the game, and only took the mask off momentarily for the photo.
“The rest of the time I wore it, as we all should,” said Newsom.
Other public officials and celebrities also took photos with Johnson at the box in SoFi Stadium, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and actor Rob Lowe. Johnson posted the photos on his Twitter account.
Fox News called it “French Laundry 2.0” in a reference to Newsom’s dinner with a lobbyist at an expensive Napa Valley restaurant in late 2021. “Newsom blows off mask rules and immediately gets caught moment he’s called out,” blared the headline on the Fox website.
Jessica Millan Patterson, chair of the state Republican Party, issued a statement criticizing the Governor for “insulting disregard” of mask rules.
“While they force California children to wear masks in school, Gavin Newsom and friends get to enjoy a mask-free night of football in a packed stadium,” she said. “His blatant and insulting disregard for his own COVID rules is a crystal-clear sign that it’s time for his Draconian policies and state of emergency to go.”
In most of the photos shared by Johnson, his guests had masks in their hands. Other photos of Newsom showed him with a mask.
The SoFi Stadium rules state “masks are required for all attendees except when actively eating or drinking.”