Vanilla Ice Waxes July 4th Concert Like Candle After Coronavirus-Fueled Backlash
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Vanilla Ice is done with this “corona crap.”
The 90s rapper has decided to postpone his controversial Fourth of July concert in Austin, Texas, amid rising cases of Covid-19 in the state, he announced in a video message Thursday afternoon.
Due to the increase in COVID-19 numbers in Austin we’re gonna move the concert to a better date. We were hoping for better Coronavirus numbers by July but Unfortunately the numbers have increased quite a bit so for the safety and health of everyone we’re going to stay home. pic.twitter.com/MWWfNWf3zd
— Vanilla Ice (@vanillaice) July 2, 2020
“Basically, I’m not going,” said Vanilla Ice, sporting an American flag snapback with palm trees behind him. “I listen to my fans, I hear all you people out there. I didn’t know the numbers were so crazy in Austin, but we were hoping it would be a lot better by Fourth of July.”
His show, entitled the Independence Day Throwback Beach Party, grew widespread criticism when it was announced Wednesday. Because the venue was considered a restaurant, Vanilla Ice could still perform around Texas coronavirus guidelines.
“I can’t wait to get back to this,” Vanilla Ice said on Instagram earlier this week with a video of him performing. “The 90s were the best. We didn’t have coronavirus, or cell phones, or computers.”
On July 1, Texas had 8,000 new cases of coronavirus, adding to its total of 170,000 since early March. He also defended holding the concerts on Twitter, writing, “This is an outside venue, Fourth of July on the lake with fireworks. Plenty of room for distancing.”
Even with Vanilla Ice’s convincing statements, the people of Austin had the last word. The owner of the show’s venue told the Texas Tribune that only 84 tickets were sold three days before the concert. The next day, Vanilla Ice changed his mind.
“We were just hoping for a good time on Fourth of July weekend,” Vanilla Ice said Thursday. “But it turned into a big focal point on me, and it’s not about that … hopefully by New Years, this corona crap will have a cure!”
