St. Petersburg Mayor angered at 50 Cent’s Maskless Super Bowl Party
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla— St. Petersburg Mayor angered at 50 Cent for his massive maskless Super Bowl Party Friday, concerns for a massive spread of COVID-19 is sweeping the area.
The popular rapper-actor Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, rented a hangar at Albert Whitted Airport on Friday night to host a wild Super Bowl party in which it was “COVID-oblivious.” Doors opened at 9 p.m. with ticket prices ranging from $85 for general admission to $7,000 for a table, as reported by TMZ. The crowds filled the entire hangar and partied into the early morning hours.
Since this is the first Super Bowl during the COVID-19 pandemic, many worried the mass crowds attending the game and parties in the community would cause a super-spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has begged people to watch the Super Bowl at home with their immediate families and not cause an even greater spread of COVID-19 as the U.S. still battles with rising COVID-19 positive rates.
Dr. Fauci’s plea to not have Super Bowl parties came out days after the CDC recommended cancelation of Super Bowl parties. That being said, this plea for the community’s well-being did not stop Super Bowl parties just as 50 Cent still threw his Super Bowl bash.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman heard about 50 Cent’s party and was angered to hear COVID-19 CDC guidelines were not enforced at the party.
“This isn’t how we should be celebrating the Super Bowl,” Kriseman said in a tweet. “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 cents.”
While Kriseman issued an executive order enforcing all patrons to wear masks in businesses in June 2020, some businesses are fighting that mandate to this day, saying that it is “unenforceable.”
Knight Global Entertainment, which owns and operates popular downtown bars such as Jannus Live argues that Kriseman can’t create an ordinance on his own — only the St. Petersburg City Council can. The entertainment group is also in the midst of fighting many citations about employees failing to wear masks and social distance; they have violated Kriseman’s executive order.
While COVID-19 rates are a concern across the U.S. after Super Bowl Sunday, Kriseman is now looking into 50 Cent’s party and urges people to continue to wear masks and social distance as we face the second year of this pandemic.
