Actor, filmmaker and comedian Michael Rapaport feels their pain, and he’s wondering the same thing: Why are farmer’s markets safe, but outdoor dining isn’t?
In a video posted to his TikTok on Monday, Rapaport posed that question while calling out L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Governor Gavin Newsom over the seemingly unfair restrictions against restaurants, many of which are facing tremendous financial setbacks in light of the pandemic.
“Look at this st. The fking Melrose Fairfax farmer’s market is popping,” Rapaport says in the clip, as the camera pans across rows and rows of tents where people are selling goods.
“And I have no problem with all these people making their money and making a living,” he continues, “But how the fk is this OK but right across the street all the cafes, all the restaurants are shut down? Look at this st. Get your money, but who’s making the decisions here, Garcetti, you fk? Gavin Newsom, with the fking good hair? You fk, look, they got got the music playing and all this st. This st doesn’t make any fking sense. This don’t make any fking sense. This why motherfkers are pissed off and protesting.”
Newsweek has reached out to Rapaport for further comment.
The actor’s TikTok video comes following a string of protests all over L.A. County, of people disputing the current ban on outdoor dining. Restaurant and bar owners rallied outside of L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s home in Santa Monica on Saturday, chanting, “Reopen! Reopen!” Just one day earlier, Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill owner Angela Marsden fueled the outrage in Sherman Oaks after she posted a video of a film crew catering area that had popped up in a parking lot, right next to where her restaurant’s now-closed outdoor eating area was designated.
L.A. County’s ban on outdoor dining at restaurants, breweries, wineries, bars and cafes—limiting establishments to takeout and delivery service only—took effect on November 25. The restriction is expected to last until December 27, because of California state’s more recent regional stay-at-home order.
After that date, the service industry may catch somewhat of a break under L.A. Superior Court Judge James Chalfant’s Tuesday ruling, calling for “an appropriate risk-benefit analysis” from the county before any restriction extensions can be put into place, according to ABC7 News.
Chalfant claimed county council members “acted arbitrarily” and “failed to perform the required risk-benefit analysis” before they implemented limitations that hadn’t been issued in L.A. since the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring.
The county’s ban on outdoor dining is set to expire on Dec. 16, but the regional stay-at-home order prevents restaurants from opening up again when that mid-December date passes.
Cases of COVID-19 continue to surge across the state and at high rates in L.A. County specifically. The L.A. Public Health Department confirmed 9,243 new cases of coronavirus and 75 new deaths from the virus on Wednesday. More than 475,000 people have suffered from COVID-19 in L.A. County since it emerged earlier this year, while more than 1.46 million cases have been confirmed across the entire state.
