The 'Interstellar' actress, who wore a mask at this year's Oscars, shares her story while taking part in The Hollywood Reporter's annual Tony Nominees Roundtable.
- June 6, 2023
AceShowbiz - Jessica Chastain claimed she "got quite a lot of flak" for masking up at award shows. The "Interstellar" actress made the revelation at The Hollywood Reporter's annual Tony Nominees Roundtable and she also explained why she got the unnecessary criticism.
The 46-year-old declared that she wore a mask to prevent catching COVID-19 since was working on Broadway in Henrik Ibsen's iconic play, "A Doll's House". The actress added, "We were testing every day on our show, and even if you had no symptoms, if you tested positive for COVID, you were out for a week."
"And I was meeting people at the stage door who flew in from Shanghai and flew in from all over the world," she continued. "To be out of the show for a week? It just felt like it was so irresponsible."
"So I was wearing the mask at the Oscars. I got quite a lot of flak for that. A lot of people thought I was making some political statement," Jessica further elaborated. "I don't know what they thought."
Josh Groban, who was also in the roundtable, chimed in by telling Jessica, "Theater people knew. We knew." In response, the "Zero Dark Thirty" star replied, "Well, OK, good."
"I'll tell you, the best thing is someone at the stage door gave me a mask that said, 'I'm On Broadway.' But yeah, the SAG Awards, the Oscars, a lot of people were like, 'What are you doing?!' " the Grammy winner recalled. "I just couldn't get sick. And I didn't. I haven't missed a show."
