Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Entertainment Holdings, said that moviegoers would not be required to wear masks at the company’s theaters when they reopen next month after a shutdown during the coronavirus pandemic. “We did not want to be drawn into a political controversy,” Mr. Aron said in an interview published on Thursday by Variety magazine. The company had already announced this month that patrons might be encouraged, but not required, to wear masks but that face coverings would be mandatory for all employees, a point that Mr. Aron reiterated in the interview. Nevertheless, his comments prompted a swift backlash on social media. “How is public health ‘political?’” one person wrote on Twitter.

Source: New York Times June 19, 2020 02:48 UTC