Los Angeles County Defends Emmys, Says Mask Exceptions Are Fine for ‘Television Productions’

(L-R) Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Okieriete Onaodowan, Phillipa Soo, Jon Kamen, Thomas Kail, Dave Sirulnick, and Jonathan Groff, winners of the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) award for 'Hamilton,' pose in the press room during the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sept. 19, 2021. Rich Fury/Getty Images

Los Angeles County responded to criticism that the Emmy Awards, in which mostly maskless celebrities attended, did not follow proper COVID-19 protocols and didn’t abide by the county’s mask mandate.

The Emmys, it said, are a “television production,” which exempts the event from county rules around masks.