Wearing a mask in public spaces during the pandemic is a low-risk-high-reward situation. Best-case scenario, mask-wearers help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Worst-case scenario, even is masks somehow aren’t that effective (although they certainly seem to be), you might be mildly uncomfortable for a short period of time. All that said, former Oasis member Noel Gallagher doesn’t count himself among mask proponents, as he says he refuses to wear one.
During a recent appearance on the The Matt Morgan Podcast, Gallagher declared, “I don’t wear a mask, no.” He went on to explain his position:
“The whole thing’s bollocks. You’re supposed to wear them in Selfridges [UK department store], yet you can f*cking go down the pub and be surrounded by every f*cking c*nt, do you know what I mean? It’s like, ‘Oh, well actually, we don’t have the virus in pubs, but we have it in Selfridges?’ I was going up to Manchester the other week and f*cking some guy’s going, ‘Can you put your mask on? Because the transport police will get on and fine you a thousand pounds. But you don’t have to put it on if you’re eating.’ So I was saying, ‘Oh right, so this killer virus that’s sweeping through the train is gonna come and attack me but it’s gonna see me having a sandwich and go, ‘Leave him, he’s having his lunch.””
When Morgan explained the effectiveness of masks, Gallagher responded, “It’s not a law. There’s too many f*cking liberties being taken away from us now. […] I don’t give a f*ck. I choose not to wear one. If I get the virus, it’s on me. It’s not on anyone else. If every other c*nt’s wearing a mask, I’m not gonna catch it off them, and if I’ve got it, then they’re not gonna catch it off me. So, f*cking… I just think it’s a pisstake.”
Gallagher’s claim that “it’s not a law” to wear a mask in the UK is inaccurate: gov.uk lists a number of “indoor settings” where “you must wear a face covering by law,” including “public transport,” “shops and supermarkets,” and many others.
Listen to the conversation above.
