‘Silver Spoons’ Actor Ricky Schroder Lashes out at Costco Employee Enforcing Company’s Face Mask Policy

Former child actor Ricky Schroder cannot handle wearing a face mask while doing his shopping and lashed out at a Los Angeles Costco employee who asked him to keep wearing one. Schroder, who starred in Silver Spoons and NYPD Blue, insisted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidelines meant he no longer had to wear a face covering. California still has its statewide mask mandate in place until June 15, and the Costco employee explained to Schroder that they are still following those guidelines.

On Friday, Schroder posted a video of his own tirade on Facebook. At the start of the clip, he asked the Costco employee, named Jason, why he couldn’t go into the store without a mask. Jason calmly explained that there was “no change” to the store’s mask policy since California and Los Angeles County haven’t lifted their mask mandates. “Yes, there has been. You didn’t see the news? Nationwide Costco has said you don’t need to wear masks,” Schroder replied.

This is only partly true. On Friday, Costco was one of the national retailers that announced vaccinated customers can visit their stores without wearing a mask after the CDC said Thursday that fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks or practice social distancing. However, Costo stores will still follow state and local mask mandates. In California, the mask mandate will be in place until at least June 15.

Jason explained this to Schroder, who then launched into the rant he knew would get him extra exposure on social media. He accused the “people in power” of “destroying our culture” and “our state” He then demanded a refund from Costco and suggested “everybody in California” get a refund from Costco. “Give up your membership to Costco until they remove this,” the actor claimed.

The Costco employee remained calm. “This hasn’t changed in any building, in California, in any company that I’m aware of,” Jason said. “The places I shop still require masks. But that’s not the point. The point is that Costco is simply abiding by the law.” The video ended with the manager handing Schroder a copy of a receipt before he left.

Schroder is a former child actor who played Ricky Stratton on Silver Spoons in the 1980s. He also starred as a detective on NYPD Blue from 1998 to 2001. He has not appeared in a film or TV show since 2016, according to his IMDb page. He was last in the headlines in November 2020 when it was revealed that he contributed $150,000 to Kyle Rittenhouse’s bail. Rittenhouse is the teenager accused of killing two people during the Kenosha, Wisconsin protests in August.