WATCH NOW: Truckers in Canada explain the Freedom Convoy: 'Give people their freedom back'
Truckers in Canada are fighting for 'all Canadians,' they told Fox News.
Hollywood’s elite and the North American working class didn’t have much in common before COVID-19, but their differences are becoming more evident two years into the pandemic.
As scores of Canadian truckers risk their jobs to protest vaccine mandates — with support from some Americans — Hollywood’s biggest stars are preparing to celebrate their jobs at one of the most prestigious film events of the year without being required to show proof of vaccination indoors.
The Oscars may not be requiring proof of vaccination at its March 27 event at the Dolby Theater as long as people present a negative PCR test or a negative rapid antigen test on the day of the awards ceremony. There has been speculation that some nominees and attending celebrities may not be inoculated, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Academy did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
Vanessa Kirby and Amanda Seyfried during the live ABC Telecast of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, Calif., April 25, 2021. (Richard Harbaugh/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
The Oscars did not require attendees to wear face masks last year. Some celebrities were masked during the 2021 ceremony while many others were not.
The Los Angeles Department of Health currently requires those attending indoor events with 500 people or more to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative viral test prior to entry. While California plans to roll back its indoor mask mandate next week, Los Angeles may not be as quick to roll out that change.
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As The Hollywood Reporter noted, the SAG Awards and Critics Choice Awards — also hosted in Los Angeles — will be requiring proof of vaccination at their respective events this year.
Meanwhile, some police officers, medical professionals, government workers and business owners in LA County and elsewhere across the United States have either lost their jobs or shut down businesses after refusing to comply with vaccine mandates.
Parents have also noted that schoolchildren, who face a significantly smaller risk of contracting severe COVID-19 symptoms even without being vaccinated, are still wearing masks in school.
"These are the same law enforcement professionals, fire professionals, medical & health care professionals, mental health professionals, and others who we called HERO[s] just a short time ago," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a tweet Monday as it pushes back against a vote that could cost the department 4,000 employees who have yet to comply with COVID-19 vaccination rules.
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Truck drivers in Canada and possibly the United States are protesting vaccine mandates via convoys. In Ottawa, the convoys have made international headlines. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency in the capital Sunday and recently used the words "nationwide insurrection" to describe the protests,
"There’s others of us that want to keep working and want to keep providing," Canadian truck driver David Henry told "Fox & Friends" Wednesday, adding that truck drivers' frustrations are the buildup of "a lot of little issues" over time, and that the mandates feel "like a slap in the face."
Trucks block roads in downtown Ottawa, Canada. (Fox News Digital/Lisa Bennatan)
Critics of the vaccine mandates say city and state leaders may have jumped the gun on mandating vaccines as the omicron variant of COVID-19 has proven its ability to evade immunity offered by vaccines and that such requirements are a power play from politicians.
While the vaccine prevents severe reactions to the virus — particularly in the elderly and those with underlying conditions — U.S. cases have spiked to record highs in recent weeks as the virus infects both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
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The U.S. Supreme Court in January put an end to the Biden administration's efforts to mandate vaccines at private U.S. businesses with 100 employees or more, sparking criticism from high-profile Democrats.
The Academy's apparent decision not to require proof of vaccination is not the first instance of what some pundits have described as hypocrisy among the Hollywood — or general California — elite.
A view of the Oscar® statuettes backstage before the live ABC Telecast of The 93rd Oscars® at Union Station in Los Angeles, Calif., April 25, 2021. (Richard Harbaugh/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
The 2021 Emmys was one of the first awards shows to return to the typical in-person format following more than a year of delayed and adjusted ceremonies like the Oscars and Golden Globes. Few of the stars in attendance at the Emmys in September were seen on the broadcast wearing masks or observing social distancing guidelines.
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After more than a year and a half of various mandates and guidelines designed to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, many were upset to see A-list celebrities having a celebration that seemingly included none of those things. It didn’t take long before viewers took to Twitter to slam the Emmys for not practicing what many of its stars had preached for roughly the better part of two years.
Some noted that it was difficult to see A-list celebrities going maskless while their kids are mandated to wear them for hours per day in schools to avoid massive outbreaks.
Fox News' Michael Lee, Paul Best and Hannah Panreck contributed to this report.
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