A controversial concert scheduled to take place in Texas this Fourth of July weekend has been put on ice.
Vanilla Ice on Thursday said he's postponing a concert that was set for Friday in Austin, Texas, even though the state has been experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
"Basically, I'm not going," he said in a video posted to Twitter. "I listened to my fans. I hear all you people out there. I didn't know the numbers were so crazy in Austin."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
News that the concert was set to go forward drew backlash given the state's rising coronavirus cases, and the Travis County Health Department told TMZ, "This is not wise regardless of who is performing at any gathering right now." Vanilla Ice in the video posted on Thursday said he was hoping the pandemic "would be a lot better by Fourth of July" when booking the concert. No new date was provided for the show, though he held out hope that "this corona crap will have a cure" by New Year's.
As Entertainment Weekly points out, the "Ice Ice Baby" rapper previously defended his Texas concert amid the backlash only hours ago, in a tweet earlier today claiming that "I take the coronavirus serious" but arguing the show would be fine and that "we can't live in a bubble." He quickly changed his mind, apparently after having stopped, collaborated, and listened.
-
August 24 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Putin at Donald Trump's circus, gallons of whitewash, and a foldable cartoon
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
