LL Cool J has canceled his New Year’s Eve performance after testing positive for COVID-19.
The “Mama Said Knock You Out” emcee was slated to perform on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” on Friday night (Dec. 31) in Times Square. “I know it’s disappointing to the millions of fans, but my test came back positive for COVID, which means I’ll no longer be able to perform as scheduled at NYRE,” LL said in a statement.
“We were ready and I was really looking forward to ringing in 2022 in my hometown in a special way, but for now I wish everyone a healthy and happy New Year. The best is yet to come!” he added.
There have been apprehensions about the event due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. This week, the United States reached an unpleasant milestone in relation to positive COVID-19 cases as the new Omicron strain persists to sweep the country. The U.S. recorded a single-day record-breaking high of more than 441,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 27. The previous record was reported back in January, with 298,000 positive cases in a single day.
However, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the NYE event would still transpire — with special protocols in place. Only 25 percent — or 15,000 — of the usual amount of attendees will be allowed to be present and guests must wear masks and practice social distancing.
Singer Chlöe also canceled her appearance on the NYE event, but several other artists are still set to perform. Joining the show from Los Angeles will be French Montana, Big Boi, Sleepy Brown, Avril Lavigne, Travis Barker, Macklemore, OneRepublic and more. Daddy Yankee is scheduled to perform from Puerto Rico, while “Pose” actor Billy Porter will make an appearance from New Orleans.
The REVOLT team hopes LL gets well soon!