Vanilla Ice cancels Texas concert

Vanilla Ice has indefinitely postponed his concert in Texas after receiving heavy criticism for planning the event in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

He was set to perform at a 2,500-capacity concert in Austin on Friday despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state.

“Due to the increase in COVID-19 numbers in Austin we’re gonna move the concert to a better date,” Vanilla Ice tweeted Thursday. “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.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all bars in the state closed for a second time last Friday as the state tries to curb a resurgence in the virus following a fast reopening last month. Restaurants were also ordered to return back to 50 percent capacity.

Texas saw a record 8,076 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, two days before the concert is scheduled to begin, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. Hospitalizations have also skyrocketed in recent weeks. More than 6,900 people are currently hospitalized in the state as of Wednesday night, compared to just over 2,000 on June 11th.

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The Vanilla Ice show drew widespread criticism when the rapper posted about it on social media Wednesday. Only 84 tickets had been sold before the online ticket broker suspended sales.