Arnold Schwarzenegger's bluntness in real life mirrors that of his Terminator character. The 74-year-old actor has always been very vocal about his beliefs and is never afraid to share his two cents. Arnold recently landed himself in hot lava water when he all but condemned those who refused to wear masks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the Terminator talks, you ought to listen

The COVID-19 pandemic is currently dividing people. On one hand, there are those who firmly believe that the key to ending the current predicament is to listen to government-mandated protocols. On the other hand, others think that what the government wants you to do (e.g. wearing masks etc) is infringing on your personal freedom. The latter are the ones that Arnold targeted in one of his previous interviews.

The seven-time Mr. Olympia did not mince his words when talking about people who deliberately choose to disregard health protocols. In an August interview, he explained that people who feel like they are losing their rights should remember that freedom comes with "obligations and responsibilities". The actor specifically referred to those who outright denied safety regulations as schmucks.

Naturally, these comments sparked a lot of debate. In fact, partly because of Arnold's comments that included him saying "screw your freedoms", the former California governor ended up losing REDCON1 as a sponsor to his upcoming bodybuilding competition, the Arnold Classic.

Of course, the Terminator actor didn't make it this far in his career without ruffling some feathers. He also isn't one to change his stance, as he made abundantly clear in a more recent interview where he was asked about his earlier comments.

Yesterday while I was talking with @AVindman and @biannagolodryga about Alex’s new book, I was asked about my comment about COVID misinformation that all of you are sharing. Here was my answer: pic.twitter.com/8LKhPIJ1Eu

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) August 11, 2021

If it's any consolation to those who felt offended, the actor did acknowledge that his comments were "harsh". However, it appears that he isn't backing down from his stance. As evidenced from the video above, the former bodybuilder defended his opinion. He added that he sees freedom and being an American as meaning that you need to help and care for others.

Only time will tell if Schwarzenegger will receive more backlash for his latest comments. What we are sure of is that he's not going to change his mind anytime soon.