Recently, country singer Jason Aldean found himself in a bit of hot water over a picture taken by him and his family while they were all visiting Walt Disney World. The issue at hand was that in the image, nobody is wearing a face covering, as per Walt Disney World rules. This led to a chorus of criticism for the singer on social media. Some wondered if Aldean, being a celebrity, somehow was given an exemption from the rules, and regardless many felt that not wearing a mask in the picture was setting a bad example for others at the very least.
The negative response eventually led to Jason Aldean removing the image from Twitter, but not before he responded to some of the criticism. In one response, he made it clear that everybody in his family was wearing masks as expected, and that they were only briefly removed for the picture. And based on the tone of the response, as reported by Taste of Country, Aldean didn't care for all the negativity, saying...
Chill out lady. They are in our pocket. We took them off for 5 seconds to take the pic. Believe me, Disney didn't give us a 'free pass' not to wear them. We had them on all day just like everybody else.
While I can't imagine anybody is too excited by the idea of taking a family photo at Walt Disney World where everybody is wearing a mask, and Jason Aldean and his family are certainly not the only ones to remove masks for pictures, the mask policy as stated for Walt Disney World does not make allowances for pictures. The only times the current policy allows for removing one's mask is while eating or swimming, and in the case of eating, all guests are expected to remain stationary while doing so.
While one family removing masks for a minute to take a stationary photo likely isn't that big a deal, Walt Disney World probably doesn't like seeing pictures like this because it could potentially encourage others to do the same. And while one family taking a photo without masks probably won't cause a problem, if everybody does it, it could become a serious issue. Disney won't even give you your ride photos in the park if you're not wearing a mask.
So far there have been no indications that Walt Disney World being open has led to a spread in coronavirus, but that's certainly because of the strict rules that have been put in place. If too many people start bending the rules there could be an issue, and then Walt Disney World could end up closed again.
Walt Disney World has continued to modify rules as necessary. Only certain types of face coverings are acceptable in the parks, and the rule about not moving while eating was added after the fact when officials noticed that many people were using food as an excuse to move around the parks without masks. Disney has been touting the park's success and remaining open while keeping guests safe, but that only works if the people in the park do their part.
