Singer Vanilla Ice arrives at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles, June 3, 2012. (Reuters)
Coronavirus
Coronavirus: Vanilla Ice concert on July 4 sparks viral concerns over COVID-19 spread
Texas, where the concert is planned, is one of the new hotspots for COVID-19 in the US, which reported a nationwide jump of 50,000 cases in a single day on Thursday
The rapper Vanilla Ice's decision to hold a concert for thousands in Texas despite a jump in coronavirus cases across the US has sparked criticism and comment online.
Texas is one of the new hotspots for COVID-19 in the US, which reported a nationwide jump of 50,000 cases in a single day on Thursday.
Read more: Coronavirus: US sets one-day record for COVID-19 cases, Texas halt reopening
But despite the jump in cases, Vanilla Ice has announced he will be performing for 2,500 people at an "Independence Day Throwback Beach Party" in Austin, Texas.
— Vanilla Ice (@vanillaice) June 29, 2020
The planned concert exploits a legal loophole in a state where bars and concerts are banned to avoid further spread of the virus, which travels easily between people in large crowds.
According to the Austin Chronicle, the Emerald Point Bar & Grill at Lake Travis is characterized as a restaurant because over half of its sales are food, allowing it to avoid the ban on bars. The venue will operating at 50 percent capacity.
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Vanilla Ice, whose real name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle, rose to fame in the 1990s with his hits "Ice Ice Baby" and "Play That Funky Music."
“I can’t wait to get back to this. The 90s were the best. We didn’t have coronavirus, or cell phones, or computers. We had 5.0's, blockbuster, Beavis and Butthead, Wayne's World, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan ... Mortal Kombat is still better than Fortnight ... the last of the great decades,” the rapper tweeted.
Read the latest updates in our dedicated coronavirus section.
Social media users voiced concern at the potential spread caused by the concert.
“Dad? How did mom die?”
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) July 2, 2020
“Well, kids, your mother was a true American. She believed in liberty, and the flag, and refused to cowtow to liberal fear mongers who impose Sharia Law on American citizens. So she went to a Vanilla Ice concert on July 4th in the middle of a pandemic.”
Others poked fun at Vanilla Ice still being able to attract crowds in 2020.
The real news here is that there are more than a thousand people who want to see Vanilla Ice perform https://t.co/AlF0IleVZU
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) July 2, 2020
Craziest thing about 2020 is that Vanilla Ice is getting gigs
— Dave Weasel (@DaveWeasel) July 2, 2020
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