Joan Collins details her 'face mask fight' with police over her face visor
Joan Collins is opening up about a clash she says she had with a police officer, who Collins says chastised her for wearing an illegal face visor in Saint-Tropez, France.
The "Dynasty" star, who visited the south of France with her youngest daughter after quarantining in London, detailed her "face mask fight" in The Spectator on Saturday, writing that she swapped her "muzzle" mask for a "less stifling" plastic face visor that allowed her to breathe more easily.
However, Collins says the police officer at Ikea "pounced" in reaction, chastising her for wearing a face covering instead of a mask. Masks have been mandatory in indoor public spaces in France since July 20.
"An officious gendarme became deeply offended by it, and while I was mulling over the benefits of Ikea’s gravadlax vs its smoked salmon, he pounced," she detailed, adding that he "yelled" at her to put on a proper mask.
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In response, Collins says she "slunk away" and "muttered an Anglo-Saxon expletive under (her) breath" before switching to a clear plastic face mask.
"Although it was easier to speak and to be understood, it forced my face into a hideous rictus," she wrote.
Paste BN has reached out to Collins' rep for further comment.
This isn't the first time that Collins has written about her experiences amid the pandemic. In May, the award-winning actress described her frustration with "the utter discrimination" against elders being encouraged to stay inside to help limit the spread of coronavirus.
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"Our government insisted the ‘over-seventies’ (horrible expression) were part of the ‘vulnerables’ (an even more horrible expression) and should remain in lockdown (the most horrible expression of all) until a vaccine is found," she wrote on May 17. "But more harmful was bolstering the existing belief among the general public (and prospective employers) that the old should keep out of everyone’s way."
Collins, 87, continued, explaining that she refuses to be defined by age.
"I married a man three decades younger, and at my last check-up my GP said I was 'stunningly healthy,' " she said. "I am lucky to possess enormous energy and enthusiasm for life."