Steph Claire Smith bikini photo sparks bizarre backlash over mask wearing outside
A Melbourne model said she was “incredibly grateful” to be able to finally go to the beach again – only to be hit with unexpected criticism.
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Melbourne model and fitness entrepreneur Steph Claire Smith has hit back at the “ridiculous” criticism she‘s received after posted a photo of her wearing a mask at the beach.
Steph, who is co-founder of online fitness program Keep It Cleaner, shared a picture on Instagram from her local beach.
In the caption Steph wrote that she was “incredibly grateful” for the fact she lived close enough to visit the sea.
“Just getting to sit on the beach for an hour without having to ‘exercise’ as an excuse to be there was heavenly,” she wrote.
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But Steph‘s post soon received dozens of comments from people who criticised her decision to wear a mask – despite it being mandatory in Victoria and proven to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Don’t understand the mask out in the open fresh air??” one person wrote, while another added: ”Seriously wearing a mask in open air at the beach?”
“Take off the mask! Just because the government makes something law doesn’t make it right,” another commented read.
“It’s clearly not about health when you have to wear a mask even when outside/not in a crowded place.”
But Steph‘s other followers defended her decision to wear a mask and slammed the “ridiculous” comments from people who claimed it wasn’t needed.
“It was a cracking weekend here in Melbourne and the beach was probably pretty packed with other people enjoying some vitamin D … just because she’s alone in the picture doesn’t mean she was alone on an entire beach,” one follower argued.
Steph also addressed the controversy over her picture on her Instagram story, writing that she had “just wanted a photo at the beach” and was ”not going to argue” about the points raised in the comments.
“To all the people questioning me wearing a mask or thinking it’s ridiculous — here in Melbourne we have to wear one anytime we’re outside of the house,” she said.
Steph said she was “absolutely not getting paid to wear a mask and promote it”, as some had accused her of doing.
“I just wanted a photo at the beach … and didn‘t want to bend the rules or promote breaking the law by not wearing a mask,” she wrote.
Melbourne took the first step towards moving out of its harsh lockdown on September 13, with residents now allowed to leave their home for two hours a day for exercise or socialising outdoors with one other person or your household.
The city curfew has also been reduced by one hour to 9pm to 5am.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is facing increased pressure to accelerate the state‘s plan out of lockdown after falling numbers, with just 11 new coronavirus cases recorded on Monday.
Melbourne is not expected to be freed from harsh lockdown measures until October 26, according to the State Government’s strict COVID-19 recovery road map.
Mr Andrews hinted at the possibility of relaxing that date at Sunday’s press conference.
“We will always be guided by those three things: the evidence and the science, the data and what is deemed safe,” the Premier said.
“We are on schedule. We may even be a bit ahead of schedule, but we’ve got to keep going.”
– With NCA NewsWire
Originally published as Steph Claire Smith bikini photo sparks bizarre backlash over mask wearing outside