Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended herself after facing criticism for getting a haircut during a shutdown aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Photos of Lightfoot’s haircut were posted on social media Sunday, which sparked backlash considering barbershops and salons are shut down under the Illinois stay-at-home order. The woman who posted the pictures said that she “had the pleasure of giving Mayor Lightfoot a hair trim,” according to WGN TV.
The mayor and the stylist were not standing six feet apart from one another in the photos, and neither was wearing a protective mask. Lightfoot was asked about her haircut during a press conference on Monday.
“I think what really people want to talk about is, we’re talking about people dying here. We’re talking about significant health disparities. I think that’s what people care most about,” she explained, according to the Chicago Tribune. “The woman who cut my hair had a mask and gloves on, so we are, I am practicing what I’m preaching.”
A reporter then asked Lightfoot about one of her “stay home, save lives” public service announcements in which she admonished a person by telling them, “Getting your roots done is not essential.” In response, she demurred, “I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media, and I’m out in the public eye,” and added, “I’m a person who, I take my personal hygiene very seriously. As I said, I felt like I needed to have a haircut.”
Illinois was one of the first states to declare a stay-at-home order as a means of limiting residents’ exposure to the virus.