Here’s to Bill Hader, the only celeb wearing a mask at the 2022 Emmys

Is masking in public discourse a thing of the past? It is possible. When COVID hit, the subject was politicized, but now that people are feeling marginally safer out in the world, it is still a difficult topic. It's a good idea to wear a mask if you want to avoid getting or spreading any kind of airborne illness, but it's not a good idea to make your own decisions.

Bill Hader was one of the only major celebs seen in a mask. There were typical COVID protocols in place for presenting, nominees, and audience members, but there was something striking about the image of Hader sitting amongst a sea of maskless faces. The Barry creator stuck to his guns in a room of Hollywood power players. One person wrote that the safe king would be in the year 2022.

Hader wasn't paranoid or virtue signalling by wearing the mask. He revealed in a Hollywood Reporter profile earlier this year that he has an auto immune condition and takes immune-suppressing medication. Hader wears an N95 mask to work on the Sony lot, where masking is optional, and he is worried about whether the stress from worrying is triggering his autoimmune condition, but he also wears an N95 mask to hide his face.