Video | Maskless Tito Ortiz accused of making “out of line” comments during City Council meeting

By Harry Kettle - December 23, 2020

Tito Ortiz has been accused of making out of line comments during a recent Huntington Beach City Council meeting.

Tito Ortiz

After becoming an elected official, the former UFC and Bellator star has caused quite a bit of controversy due to his views on public health and COVID-19 in general. As a result, clips from his appearances in City Council meetings have spread far and wide.

The same is true of a meeting Ortiz took part in earlier this week.

Another member of the council made the following statement in relation to Ortiz opting not to wear a mask.

“I would just like to register my formal disappointment in councilman Ortiz and Peterson ignoring the Mayor’s letter asking them to wear masks at this meeting,” he said. “I feel that it puts us at risk and I’m just very disappointed that it’s the position you’re taking.”

Ortiz then accused his critic of not wearing a mask at a previous event. That remark was in turn called “out of line.”

During a past meeting, a resident called in to express his disappointment at some of Ortiz’s actions.

“I also think it’s important to inform the people and make sure that you are being a good example,” the caller said, targeting Ortiz. “I do not think it is appropriate, for example, to claim that COVID is a form of population control or to cite a news article claiming that masks don’t work, which is based on a Danish study which says on its first page—and I quote—that it has ‘inconclusive evidence results, missing data, variable adherence, patient-reported findings on home tests, no blinding, and no assessment on whether masks can decrease the transmission from mask-wearers to others.’ That’s on the first page of a study that an incoming city council member cited on their Instagram page.

“Most of all, I think it’s important to respect the people that work for us in our city,” the citizen continued, adding to his criticisms of Ortiz, who was not wearing a mask at the meeting. “I don’t think it’s respectful to say that ventilators cause COVID or to imply guilt on the part of our doctors and medical professionals. I also do not think it is respectful to not have the police wearing masks in crowded environments. It doesn’t cost that much to wear masks and I think it’s the bare minimum of respect to wear one when you’re in a large crowd of people downtown.”

Suffice it to say that this isn’t the first time that Tito Ortiz has come under fire during his brief stint in public office, and it probably won’t be the last.