Tilda Swinton Explains Why She'll No Longer Wear a Face Mask Despite Mandates

The actress shared her candid opinion during a SXSW panel.

Tilda Swinton is the latest celebrity to speak out against mask mandates in the entertainment industry.

The French Dispatch actress revealed her opinion on the topic while giving the keynote address at the South by Southwest festival, saying to a crowd of people, "I'm actually just about to start shooting a picture in Ireland. And I was told, full disclosure, and I'm sure this is being recorded – people in Ireland might hear it – to wear a mask at all times."

Swinton went on to say, “I’m not wearing a mask because I’m super healthy and I’ve had COVID so many times and I’m so full of antibodies…and I have faith."

The star also commented positively on seeing the audience members not wearing masks, jokingly asking, "I mean in Texas, did people wear masks? I have to ask."

At the beginning of 2022, Swinton was singing a slightly different tune, discussing her issues with longterm COVID side effects in an interview with the Guardian.

She said of her long COVID struggles, "I was coughing like an old gentleman who smoked a pipe for 70 years, and had nasty vertigo. I got off relatively lightly, but the worst thing is how it affected my brain."

"I did two films that I had to learn a lot of text for. One was the Wes Anderson and he likes you to speak like a speeding train," she continued. "I’m normally quite quick at studying, and picking stuff up, but this was like chewing a really big piece of gum. I couldn’t remember my lines. More or less, but I’m still forgetting things. I have to work my brain."

While Swinton acknowledged her history having COVID-19 at SXSW, it didn't change her mind about the mask mandate. She is currently at SXSW to promote her newest film, Problemista.