The attorney for the Mystic Krewe of Nyx responds to New Orleans city leaders calling the krewe’s decision to host a masquerade ball, ‘irresponsible’.
On Saturday, the Carnival organization held a traditional masquerade at the IP Casino Resort in Biloxi Mississippi.
The krewe’s decision to host a gathering during a pandemic sparked a firestorm on social media.
A spokesperson for the City of New Orleans released a statement saying in part:
This kind of irresponsible behavior and callous disregard for the work our people have done to stop the spread is unacceptable. That it happened elsewhere is irrelevant, since it involves New Orleans residents and a local Carnival organization. We urge everyone who attended the event to quarantine for at least 10 days and consider getting tested, so as not to jeopardize the City's recent improvement in metrics after a devastating holiday surge.
At a media press conference on Tuesday, city spokesperson Beau Tidwell called the Nyx ball a ‘disservice to public health’ and says the city could consider denying the krewe’s 2022 parade permit.
“Just because you are outside of Orleans Parish, and you and your whole krewe come back into New Orleans, and all those people are spread around the city, that potentially presents a super-spreader event,” Tidwell said. “That is certainly a concern and is certainly something we are going to look at when the time comes to look at permits for next year.”
“Conclusions were made before the facts were even known,” Krewe of Nyx attorney, Doug Sunseri explained to Newell Normand. “Nobody understood who was there, who wasn’t there, why they were there, and what was the composition of the people who were there. Why is that drawing so much scrutiny from Orleans Parish Government? That is mystifying to me. Where does it stop?”
Sunseri says the event, although called a Ball, was actually a small gathering of about 42 people. Guests and event staff were socially distanced and followed all CDC guidelines according to Sunseri.
“Interestingly, only two people who attended, were from Orleans Parish,” said Sunseri. “I was just very confused as to why they would make all these conclusions about this event and not know a darn thing about what led up to it, or how it occurred or know anything else about it.”
When asked if he thinks the city is targeting the Krewe of Nyx, Sunseri said, “I call it selective outrage. I mean, I don’t see scrutiny of other organizations having gatherings.”
The city has not made a decision on whether or not to deny the krewe’s parade permit for the 2022 Mardi Gras season.
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