US rapper Doja Cat, dismissive of Covid-19, says she has tested positive
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This is the second time Doja Cat confirmed she contracted the virus.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - American singer-rapper Doja Cat, who had previously downplayed the seriousness of Covid-19, tested positive for the coronavirus and cancelled a number of upcoming performances.
The artiste, whose legal name is Amala Zandile Dlamini, said on social media on Sunday (Dec 12) that she had tested positive after a few members of her production team had also tested positive.
It was the second time she confirmed she had contracted the virus, after she said in July last year that she had Covid-19.
Dlamini, 26, wrote in the statement that her "spirits are down", but that "I'm doing ok and look forward to recovering and getting back out there as soon as I can!"
She said she was cancelling the rest of her appearances on this year's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour. She was set to perform four shows over the next week in Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and Miami.
Two days before her announcement, she had cancelled her Jingle Ball performances in New York on Friday and Boston on Sunday after members of her production team had tested positive.
The Jingle Ball is a nationwide tour, sponsored by the radio conglomerate iHeartRadio, that brings together some of the most popular musical acts in the United States.
Dlamini was scheduled to be a part of lineups this week that included Saweetie, Megan Thee Stallion and the Black Eyed Peas.
Dlamini is a Grammy Award-nominated artiste who found success with hits such as Say So (2020) and Need To Know (2021).
She is known for interacting with her fans on social media, including the time in March last year when she said on Instagram Live that she was "not scared of a coronavirus".
"I'm going to get corona and then I'm going to get a Corona," she said, likely referring to both the virus and the beer.
She said she did not care about the virus, using an expletive, and added: "It's a flu."
She also said that people who contracted the virus should "take some Mucinex and drink water and tea and sleep. That's all you've got to do."
In July last year, she told Capital Xtra, a radio station in Britain, that she contracted the virus.
"It was a four-day symptom freak out, but I'm fine now," she said.
Hours after she said she had Covid-19 on Sunday, she posted a video, on Twitter, of herself dancing. She coughed twice.
