00:00Good Luck Charlie and Will & Grace actress Lee Allen Baker was among a group of anti-maskers
00:04who protested a Franklin, Tennessee school district's decision to reinstate a mask mandate
00:08for local elementary grade students. Baker, a screen and voice actress, was among the parents
00:13who attended a special session of the Williamson County Board of Education on Tuesday and vocally
00:17opposed a then-proposed temporary mask requirement for elementary school students, staff, and visitors.
00:23The board voted to approve the policy through Tuesday, September 21st.
00:26Baker, who called herself a, quote, California refugee, took the podium during the public
00:31comment portion of the meeting. She said,
00:33I gave up everything there, a really successful Hollywood career, television shows, gave it all
00:38up for freedom and to come to this friendly place of Tennessee and be greeted with open arms, and I
00:42love it here. Baker went on to say that her, quote, two vaccine-injured children had medical exemptions
00:47that are among those, quote, rare children that will just not be able to get the vaccine.
00:51Despite that, she said she's still opposed to protecting them from COVID-19 transmission
00:55through masking because their brain needs oxygen to grow, which the neurologist can confirm.
01:00Before being cut off for time, she concluded by saying,
01:02Anyway, the real part of the clown show is that you all think that you actually have the authority
01:06to mandate this, because there are these books that I have, and I have them as a gift for you.
01:10The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Federalist
01:14Papers, also the Bible, and these guarantee my freedom and yours and our children's to breathe oxygen.
01:19Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
01:24have recommended that children wear masks upon returning to in-person schooling this year.
01:28Children under 12 are currently ineligible for the vaccine, which was authorized for emergency use
01:32for those 12 and older by the FDA. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Disney and Baker's
01:37reps for comment. For more on this story, go to THR.com.
01:40For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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