When 50 Cent said, “You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub,” apparently he even meant during the middle of a raging plague. On Friday night, the day after over 5,000 US residents died of COVID-19 in a 24-hour period, the veteran rapper and DJ Steve Aoki each hosted massive Super Bowl parties where attendees behaved like it was 2019.
According to two separate TMZ reports, 50 Cent’s airport hanger shindig in St. Petersburg and Aoki’s poolside bonanza in Tampa were filled with maskless partygoers who made no effort to social distance or even pretend to acknowledge COVID-19 restrictions.
In video posted by TMZ, a maskless Aoki cracks open bottles of champagne and sprays them into the mouths of fans, also maskless, who are giddily dancing at the front of the barrier. Eventually, the camera pans across the room to reveal a club that’s filled with young people who are dancing and drinking like the virus that’s claimed nearly half-a-million lives in their country alone is a mere fairytale.
50 Cent’s gig wasn’t any better. In TMZ’s footage, the 45-year-old rapper and his entourage — all maskless — are seen vibing and sipping on-stage while a room of people who are packed in like sardines bop along with their faces uncovered. TMZ says general admission tickets were $85 and climbed all the way up to $7k for a stage table, so clearly this one was for people whose pocketbooks aren’t hurting during this time of catastrophic economic insecurity.
What’s more, 50 is supposed to perform again this evening, and so will Migos and Diplo in Aoki’s neck of the woods. On Thursday night, disgraced rapper Tory Lanez through his own maskless jamboree at the same Florida venue Aoki played at.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci is begging Americans to cancel their own Superbowl parties because they’re bound to be superspreader events. What a time to be alive.
Editor’s Note: Stay safe by picking up one of our custom face masks. A portion of the proceeds will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Artist Relief fund supporting independent musicians.
