California concertgoers cheered the return of live music on Tuesday night when the Foo Fighters played the 600-capacity Canyon Club in Agoura Hills and marked the state’s long-awaited reopening. But there was one group that was less than pleased about the intimate show: Around 30 anti-vaccine activists protested outside the concert, sharing their displeasure that ticket-buyers were required to show proof of vaccination.
Protesters’ signs included the messages “No vaccine passports! Only Nazis ask for your papers,” “U.S. law classifies vaccines as unavoidably safe” and “COVID-19 vaccine makers are exempt from liability.”
According to an Instagram post from a concertgoer (below), actor Ricky Schroder (Silver Spoons, NYPD Blue) was among the protesters. On Sunday, when tickets went on sale for the show, Schroder took to Facebook to speak out against the event’s vaccine requirement. “Dave Grohl is an ignorant punk who needs slapped for supporting Discrimination,” the post reads. “Ignorance comes in all shapes & sizes. Kurt Cobain is laughing at you Dave along with Millions of Patriots….Fool.”
Billboard has reached out to a rep for the actor to confirm his attendance on Tuesday and hadn’t heard back at press time.
For his part, Canyon Club owner Lance Sterling was unbothered by the protesters when Billboard spoke with him before the show. “They’re exercising their right to protest and we’re exercising our right to be here,” Sterling said.
–Additional reporting by Katie Bain
