#BoycottAMC trends but CEO Adam Aron may be wrongly slammed on Internet: ‘You made mask-wearing political’
Coronavirus has brought life to a halt across all countries and after nearly four months of lockdown, life seems to be resuming to normal. AMC Theatres, the world’s largest exhibitor, recently shed light on their plans to re-open after the pandemic forced it to shut down more than 600 venues. Reportedly, the company said it will begin a multi-phase reopening with 450 locations on July 15 after implementing a health and sanitation program called "AMC Safe & Clean."
The chain expects the theaters to be fully operational by July-end as Disney’s 'Mulan' releases on July 24 and Warner Bros' 'Tenet' comes out on July 31. To take all the necessary precautions, AMC is reducing its seating capacity for social distancing, implementing new cleaning procedures, placing hand-sanitizing stations, and encouraging contact-less and cash-free concessions. In a statement, AMC Theater CEO Adam Aron said, "From the moment we made the decision back in March to temporarily shutter our theatres, we immediately began to formulate a comprehensive, effective and responsible health and sanitation plan which would allow us to move forward," and added, "This has been the core element to all of our discussions about again opening our doors to moviegoers." Not just that, the company said that in places where masks are mandatory, AMC will "abide by that ordinance and guests will be required to wear masks" and where marks are not necessary, AMC says it will "strongly" encourage guests to wear them, according to a CNN report.
In an interview with Variety, CEO Adam Aron said, "We didn’t rush to reopen,” adding, “There were some jurisdictions in some states, such as Georgia and Texas, that allowed people to reopen theatres in mid-May. We opted to remain closed, so we could give the country time to get a better handle on coronavirus. We wanted to use this time to figure out how best to open and how to do so safely.”
"There are no guarantees and nobody knows what coronavirus will look like in the winter or how long it will take to get a vaccine, but I can tell you that we have a very able management team here. We’re going to make every effort to make sure that AMC continues to be well-positioned as a leader of the movie theater industry." On a political note, he added, "We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy. We thought it might be counterproductive if we forced mask-wearing on those people who believe strongly that it is not necessary. We think that the vast majority of AMC guests will be wearing masks. When I go to an AMC feature, I will certainly be wearing a mask and leading by example."
The statement soon led to serious backlash on social media. However, Aron didn't exactly mean what this tweet suggests: "AMC Theater CEO Adam Aron says their cinemas won't require masks upon reopening because they didn't 'want to be drawn into a political controversy'," or did he? No sooner was it tweeted out, people couldn't stop slamming AMC Theatres. "Dear @AMCTheatres CEO Adam Aron, Wearing masks in a pandemic, is as 'political' as Colin Kaepernick's kneeling was about the flag. Stop falling into the trap of letting this monstrous president define the narrative. History will not be kind to you," one wrote and another said, "How is public health 'political?'" One even went on to say: "AMC's full name is Absolutely Mad for Covid-19."
In no time, the hashtag #BoycottAMC started trending on social media. "No masks, no movies. YOU made mask-wearing political. So stupid. #boycottamc," one said and another posted, "AMC Theater CEO Adam Aron says he would rather cause his patrons to die than do what scientists say. Fixed your tweet." Another wrote, "Congratulations Adam Aron, you idiot, you’ve in fact made a science-based, public health issue a political one and I will now be #boycottAMC."
However, the official statement by the theater group suggests that they would "strongly encourage" people to wear masks and also listed out how they would "disinfect seating areas nightly using electrostatic sprayers, upgrade its ventilation systems in theaters and have every AMC employee wear masks while in the theater." Is it just a case of misinterpretation? Is AMC Theatre and CEO Adam Aron being wrongly slammed? While Aron hasn't spoken on the matter yet, the fiasco may take a turn once people go through the entire matter before coming to conclusions.