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Arnold Schwarzenegger Apologizes for 2021 Freedom Comment

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By Roger “Rock” Lockridge

Seven-time Mr. Olympia and Arnold Classic promoter Arnold Schwarzenegger had spent the early portion of 2023 promoting positivity on the internet. This has been seen in the form of a newsletter, podcast, and answering comments on social media, particularly on Twitter, where he’s been promoting #ArnoldsPumpClub and encouraging followers to focus on fitness and health. He has called this the latest endeavor in his fitness crusade.

Schwarzenegger retweets and replies to several people regualrly, but one tweet in particular caught the attention of a lot of people because Schwarzenegger apologized for a controversial comment in 2021 – the infamous “screw your freedom” comment he made in reference to people who didn’t want to wear masks or get vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tweet he made with the apology was made on April 5th in reply to someone else who expressed that he disagreed with the comment but could look past it. Arnold’s quote tweet can be seen below.

“I want to thank you for your open-mindedness. I think we should be able to disagree without being enemies. Here’s what else I’ll say: I’m sorry for saying those words. I try to be relentlessly positive, but sometimes my mouth gets ahead of me. I should have communicated better.”

Schwarzenegger initially made the comment in the summer of 2021 while the world was trying to come out of the initial stages of the pandemic. His intent may have been in the right place in his mind, but the controversial comment sparked outrage within and outside of the fitness industry. Sponsors pulled out of the Arnold Sports Festival, and a few athletes and fitness personalities expressed their disappointment.

Even though the comment and controversy didn't need to be spotlighted again, it was a positive gesture by the former Governor of California to formally issue the statement and express acknowledgement for those that still held resentment towards him for making it.

Schwarzenegger has had a lot of success on multiple fronts in the last couple of years. The 2022 and 2023 Arnold Sports Festival events were both considered successful, with 2023 in particular receiving many favorable reviews thanks in part to the strong competitions in both bodybuilding and strongman/strongwoman.

Schwarzenegger is also back in his most famous capacity – as an actor. He will be starring alongside comedienne Fortune Feimster in the Netflix series “FUBAR,”, which is set to premiere on May 25. Part of the filming for that series was actually in Toronto, Ontario.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Schwarzenegger’s tweets, you can follow him @schwarzenegger. You can also subscribe to his daily e-mail newsletter “Arnold’s Pump Club” or subscribe to the previously mentioned podcast on your favorite provider for health and wellness tips.

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