Rapper 50 Cent sparked the ire of St. Petersburg, Florida, Mayor Rick Kriseman after reports surfaced he hosted a maskless Super Bowl bash prior to the big game this past Sunday.
According to TMZ, the “Candy Shop” rapper hosted a “wild” Super Bowl party on the Friday night leading into Super Bowl Sunday that featured hardly any masks.
“The bash went down at a private airport hanger in St. Petersburg. The drill was for everyone to mask up and, with limited capacity, there was room for social distancing. Well, that was the plan,” reported TMZ. “Doors opened at 9 PM with tickets ranging from $85 for general admission to $7k for a stage table … judging from the crowd there was enough disposable income to fill the joint.”
Mayor Rick Kriseman denounced the party as “stupid.” “This isn’t how we should be celebrating the Super Bowl. It’s not safe or smart. It’s stupid. We’re going to take a very close look at this, and it may end up costing someone a lot more than 50 cent,” he tweeted.
This isn't how we should be celebrating the Super Bowl. It's not safe or smart. It's stupid. We're going to take a very close look at this, and it may end up costing someone a lot more than 50 cent. @TMZhttps://t.co/Vrvg8fTdBB
— Rick Kriseman (@Kriseman) February 6, 2021
Leading up to the Super Bowl, Dr. Anthony Fauci cautioned Americans against hosting large gatherings and turning it into a “super spreader” weekend.
“It’s not a national holiday but it might as well be. We’ve got the Super Bowl coming up on Sunday. We’re used to having indoor Super Bowl parties. I don’t have to tell you about everybody reaching into the same bowl of nachos. How concerned are you, and what’s your message to folks as they think about getting together for the Super Bowl?” asked “Today” host Savannah Guthrie.
“Well, you know, every time we do have something like this, there always is a spike, be it a holiday, Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving,” Fauci said. “As you mentioned, Super Bowl is a big deal in the United States. Enjoy the game, watch it on television, but do it with the immediate members of your family, the people in your household. As much fun as it to get together in a big Super Bowl party, now is not the time to do that. Watch the game and enjoy, but do it with your family or with people that are in your household.”
In October of last year, 50 Cent lit the internet on fire when told his significant following to “Vote for Trump” in response to Biden’s wild tax plan.“WHAT THE F***! (VOTE ForTRUMP),” the rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, posted on Instagram. “I’M OUT. F*** NEW YORK The KNICKS never win anyway.”“I don’t care Trump doesn’t like black people,” he added, “62% are you out of ya f***ing mind.”
Shortly thereafter, the rapper doubled down when he agreed with Trump senior adviser Katrina Pierson that he “don’t want to be 20cent.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to be 20cent. 62% is a very, very bad idea. I don’t like it,” he tweeted.
In response to his Trump support, comedian Chelsea Handler, who used to date the rapper, tweeted that he “used to be my favorite ex-boyfriend” and then went on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon to pat herself on the back for reminding him that he “was a black person.”
“So he doesn’t want to pay 625 in taxes because he doesn’t want to go from ’50 Cent’ to ’20 Cent’ and I had to remind him that he was a black person, so he can’t vote for Donald Trump and that he shouldn’t be influencing an entire swath of people who may listen to him because he’s worried about his own personal pocketbook,“ Handler said.
Later, 50 Cent told Extra that he turned down a chance to attend the 2017 inauguration and that he never supported Trump.
“I turned down a million dollars to go to the inauguration [in 2017] — why would I just switch gears now?” the rapper said.