Vanilla Ice’s Texas Concert Melts Down Due to Coronavirus

Rapper Vanilla Ice has put a concert planned for Friday in Texas on, well…ice, ice, baby.

On Wednesday, Texas Health and Human Services data showed the Lone Star State posted a whopping 8,076 new coronavirus cases, proving that infections in Texas were once again surging. Now, the ’80s rap star has decided to postpone his July 3^rd show in Austin.

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In a video posted on Twitter, Ice—whose real name is Robert Van Winkle—spoke directly to the 2,500 fans who had purchased tickets for anywhere between $25 and $300.

“Guys, gonna give you a little update about the concert in Austin. Basically, I’m not going,” he said with a chuckle. “I listened 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 the Fourth of July because we booked this concert a long time ago. So basically, I just wanna stay safe. We do take it serious.”

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

The 52-year-old entertainer also pushed back on people who had criticized the upcoming concert at Emerald Point Bar & Grill, which remained on the books, even though Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order closing all bars last week.

Because Emerald Point is technically a restaurant, with more than half its sales coming from food, the venue been able to remain open—and that includes the outdoor stage on the restaurant’s property, where concerts are generally held.

“We were just hoping for a good time Fourth of July weekend, but it turned into being a big focal point on me, and it’s not about that,” Vanilla Ice continued in his video post. “Hopefully, by New Year’s this corona crap will have a cure. Come on! Go, ninja, go!”

Color Me Badd was to have been the headliner the following night at Emerald Point. But according to the band’s website, that Fourth of July date has now been postponed.