Ricky Schroder apologises for harassing Costco employee over mask policy: ‘I want us all to be free’

‘I don’t want this Covid reality they want’

Former child actor Ricky Schroder has issued an apology for apparently harassing a Costco employee named Jason over in-store coronavirus mask rules.

Posting a video to Facebook on Sunday (16 May), Schroder said, “Jason, nothing personal, I’m not upset with you or anybody in a position like you have [who] works for a living; I understand that you were following their laws and rules.

“I was trying to make a point to the corporate overlords, and sorry that I had to use you to do it. And if I hurt your feelings, I apologise.

He continued: “I do think that independence from medical tyranny is more important than hurting people’s feelings. So I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, but I want us all to be free. I want us all to go back to the way it was. I don’t want this Covid reality they want, Covid passports and ... I just don’t want it. And neither should you.”

Schroder also railed against “the feminist, liberal, socialist policies that encourage single motherhood”; warned of “military occupation,” claiming America was “being assaulted by a Marxist regime” and praised Rhodesia (an unrecognised former state in southern Africa that has become a favoured symbol of white supremacists), saying it is now “a place where whites live in fear”. (Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe in 1980.)

Schroder, who was known for his role in the television series Silver Spoons during the 1980s, posted a video earlier last week where he confronts Jason asking him why he would not let him enter Costco without a mask.

“Because in the state of California and the county of Los Angeles … and Costco, there has been no change to the mask policy,” Jason calmly explains.

“Yes there has been,” Schroder wrongly insists, before asking: “Didn’t you see the news?”

The 51-year-old wrongly cited a recent announcement from the chain that it would be dropping its mask requirement for those who are fully vaccinated in states that do not have a mask mandate.

“That’s not accurate,” Jason responded to Schroder after he again insists he is not required to wear a mask. “What is accurate?” the former child star demands in return.

The employee says: “What is accurate is that Costco always goes above and beyond when following the law and the mandate in California has not changed.”

Another employee promptly hands Schroder a receipt with a refund on it. “Costco is simply abiding by the law, and that’s the law,” the employee says before Schroder leaves and ends the video.

The dispute comes after the CDC announced last week that those who are fully vaccinated Americans are no longer required to wear masks or social distance, but only if states choose to drop their overarching guidelines.