Denise Richards’ regret at posting ‘strange’ maskless plane selfie

Denise Richards is walking back a bizarre selfie she posted where she claimed it was totally fine to not wear a mask on a plane, despite the pandemic.

Denise Richards reportedly regrets sharing a maskless selfie to her Instagram story, when she admitted to her followers she wasn’t adhering to guidelines required during the pandemic.

Richards shared the selfie on Sunday but was met by swift backlash online, the New York Post reported.

“Denise realised it wasn’t the right thing to do to post the picture,” a source told People of the controversial pic, which showed her “hiding” under a coat sans face mask.

“In reality, she wore her mask the entire time except when she was taking sips of water,” the source added.

“She believes in masks, and she really does follow the rules.”

Denise Richards on the plane. Picture: Instagram

A second insider told the outlet that the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum is “not one of those people who is anti-masks.”

“The way she handled it was strange, posting the photo. She’s ready to admit she was an idiot to post the photo!”

Richards, 50, posted the selfie on Sunday, writing, “Anyone that is upset that I (am) not wearing a mask I’m hiding under a hoody amd (sic) a huge winter coat. Please. Thicker than any mask!!!!!!”

A third source told People the post was meant to be sarcastic.

“She was just flying home, sitting in her seat, and she put a coat over her head… you’re allowed to take a sip of water and pull your mask down,” they said.

“So when she took her mask down, took it off for a second to relax and drink water, she posted this thing ‘I hope nobody’s upset’ and she thought it was tongue-in-cheek. But people did not think it was funny.”

Denise Richards was lashed online. Picture: Brett Costello

According to current federal medical guidelines in the US, all passengers on public conveyances – including aeroplanes, trains, subways and buses travelling into, within, or out of the United States – are required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth, regardless of their vaccination status.

Richards has previously posted pics of herself masked up to her various social media accounts.

“Off we go,” she captioned a series of plane selfies in October.

“Making my way back home,” another plane selfie, shared to Instagram in September 2020, read.

“Miss my family so much.”

A rep for Richards did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished here with permission.