Austin Aries Trends On Social Media Over Comments About Mandates For Masks

By Marc Middleton

Pro wrestling veteran Austin Aries is no secret to controversy and now he's trending worldwide on Twitter due to comments he's made about wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

Aries re-posted a graphic on Twitter and Instagram earlier this morning that went against the idea of wearing masks during the COVID-19 outbreak. Austin noted that he did not write the graphic, but had the same debate the night before.

The graphic reads like this – "I see a whole lot of this: 'People who don't wear masks are selfish and putting everyone else in danger.' Just no. Stop. Do you know what's selfish? Passing off responsibility for YOUR health to everyone else around you. It doesn't work that way. YOUR health is YOUR responsibility. MY health is MINE. Trust me, you don't want ME in charge of your health because I'll swoop in and toss out all your junk food, processed crap, alcohol, & cigs, fill your fridge with fruits and veggies, force you to drink water, take quality supplements, exercise daily, and get plenty of sleep. Oh, what's that? You don't want to be told what to eat, drink, take, do, etc? Well, Karen, if the way you're living promotes poor health and a depleted immune system that isn't functioning at its best, then you don't get to make a single health decision for me. My freedoms don't end where your fear begins. We are all adults that make our own decisions regarding the level of risk we are willing to take in everyday life. As of now, we're a free country, although that seems to be changing. If YOU want to wear a mask, bleach everything around you, wear gloves, and never touch anyone or anything... that's up to you. I do not and cannot accept that life."

Aries captioned the tweet with, "I didn't write this, but I literally had this debate last night. If I'm forced to take responsibility for your health by wearing a mask, do I also get to snatch all the s–t out your grocery cart making you sick and putting you at risk? You know, just for 'the greater good'..."

As you might imagine, this tweet led to a lot of social media criticism with Aries having several back & forth exchanges with fans, which are still ongoing as of this writing.

Aries wrote in a follow-up tweet, "'Just wear your mask, it's easy and it shows compassion for the well-being of those around.' 'Just go vegan, it's easy and it shows compassion for the well-being of those around you.' Two statements, that while the same, garner much different reactions. Explain to me why?"

A fan responded and wrote, "Okay... Let's say I eat a Hamburger around you... In what way could that even remotely influence your health, compared to a sick person, spreading germs through speaking, coughing & sneezing near you?"

Aries wrote back, "If you're eating a hamburger, you aren't really concerned about your health. Why should others be forced to "care" about your health when you clearly don't? That's my point."

Another fan responded to the original tweet graphic and wrote, "This is an easy one. You won't understand cuz you think you're smarter than everyone (which explains your career). Simply put, my junk food & cigarettes only hurt ME. You not wearing a mask hurts OTHERS. Don't wanna wear one? Don't. You just won't be allowed in public spaces."

Aries responded, "So you don't give 1 f–k about your health and won't take any responsibility for it....but now everyone else is supposed to. If you can be bothered to give a f–k, why should anybody else?"

Aries also commented on politics and America this afternoon.

"The Crayon Box of America only contains 5 colors we use to paint everything and everyone in the most simplistic ways. -Red (Conservative) -Blue (Liberal) -White (Caucasian) -Not White (Not Caucasian) -Green ($) Sadly, we refuse to demand the complex adult crayon box we need," he wrote in another tweet this afternoon.

A fan responded, "'Not white' isn't a color you profoundly dumb man."

"Oh yeah? So how do we classify anyone who has a drop of another color in them? White? Nope. Trust I've got mixed friends...they are not considered white. They are "Not White." But please, tell them differently...," Aries wrote back.

The back & forths over the topic continued, as you can see in the tweets below.

In regards to Aries trending on Twitter, it's interesting to note that for some reason the algorithm had him trending in the "Horoscopes" category. This led to fans accusing Aries of being irrelevant in the world of pro wrestling, and a reaction from Aries.

"Wow, I'm trending #1...in horoscopes! Amazing how many people I triggered about the idea of personal responsibilities and choices. I'm not even anti-mask....I am anti mandates and pro personal responsibility and choice," he wrote.

Aries also tweeted about how he doesn't care if he loses social media followers because of the controversy.

"I happily accept the purge of followers underway as I shift into my authentic self. And I know as I continue into that realm, I will be blessed with so many new followers aligned with who I truly am as a human being, not just a wrestling character," he wrote in another tweet.

Aries is set to go live on Instagram soon to continue the mask discussion.

The former Impact World Heavyweight Champion was last a member of the MLW roster but he is currently a free agent.

You can see Aries' related tweets below:

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