SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Mayor London Breed was doing damage control Friday after being caught on video dancing without a mask during a night out at a San Francisco club.
Some are accusing the mayor of breaking her own strict rules on masking.
The video showed Mayor Breed dancing without a mask at a rare live performance by the Oakland R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! at the Black Cat Club in San Francisco Thursday evening.
“We don’t need the fun police to come in and micromanage and tell us what we should or shouldn’t be doing,” said Breed during an interview to address the controversy.
The city’s health order states attendees at live indoor performances must remain masked except when actively eating or drinking. Breed maintained that she was drinking at the time.
“My drink was sitting at the table, said Breed. I got up and started dancing because i was feeling the spirit and I wasn’t thinking about a mask. Some say the mayor was flouting the same tough rules some SF business owners have been complaining about.
The mayor was taking some heat on social media.
One person posted on Twitter, “You’re the mayor and supposed to lead by example.”
Another person, who said she has been following masking rules, expressed disappointment.
“I am a registered Democrat and I voted for her,” that post read. “I love you Madame Mayor, but its all over the news…You’ll need to address the public.”
The mayor called the whole controversy overblown.
“No. I’m not going to sip and put my mask on, sip and put my mask up, eat and put my mask on,” said Breed. “While I’m eating and drinking, I’m gonna keep my mask off.:
This isn’t the first time Mayor Breed has been slammed for her actions during the pandemic.
Last November, she was criticized for gathering with people from outside her household for a dinner at the French Laundry during a fall COVID surge.
While she wasn’t violating health protocols, she seemed to defy warnings she had issued the week before about gathering with big groups.
*story by CBS San Francisco
