George Clooney Launches Expletive-Filled Rant Against COVID-19 Deniers

George Clooney (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

George Clooney is calling out people who refuse to wear their masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. The actor made it clear that he is fed up with anti-maskers and was not afraid to express his frustration during an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" Wednesday.

"This thought where everybody is like, 'Well, it's my freedom.' It's like, that's not how this s--- works, dumb---," he said, Newsweek reports. "Your freedom is this: You're free to smoke until your lungs turn black, but you can't do it on the bus. And you're free to drink until your liver comes out your ass, but you can't drink and then get behind the wheel of a car."

Clooney added that, although a vaccine was on the way, it did not mean people could let their guard down.

"Put on a f---ing mask and we'll get through this. We've got vaccines coming — let's save another 60,000 lives before the vaccines," he said.

Speaking with Stern, Clooney said he agreed with Tom Cruise's outburst at crew members who were not following COVID-19 protocols on the set of "Mission: Impossible." During his rant, Cruise threatened to have anyone not obeying the rules fired. In expletive-filled remarks captured on audiotape obtained by The Sun, the star and producer of the action film yelled at the crew about lapses of social distancing and other rules that allow movies to be made during the coronavirus pandemic.

Clooney said he understood why Cruise reacted the way he did.

"He didn't overreact because it is a problem. I have a friend who's an AD [assistant director] on another TV show who just had the almost exact same thing happen with not quite as far out a response," he said, according to E! News.

"You're in a position of power and it's tricky, right? You do have a responsibility for everybody else and he's absolutely right about that. And, you know, if the production goes down, a lot of people lose their jobs," he added. "People have to understand that and have to be responsible."