Ted Nugent Contracts COVID-19 After Mocking Mask-Wearers During 'Not Real' Pandemic, Promotes Anti-Asian Rhetoric
April 20 2021, Published 3:52 p.m. ET
Months after singer, conspiracy theorist, and antivaxxer Ted Nugent mocked the coronavirus as a "leftist scam" that was "not a real pandemic," he tested positive for COVID-19.
And even while announcing his diagnosis on Monday, the 72-year-old musician continued to prove himself callous by repeatedly disparaging Asian people and calling it the "Chinese virus."
Though the effects of the virus that's killed over half a million Americans in a little over a year have greatly varied from infected person to infected person, Nugent said he was on the worse end of the spectrum.
"I have quite the announcement to make. Wait'll you hear what I have to say," the staunch Donald Trump supporter began his almost-nine-minute, selfie-style Facebook Live video. "You probably can't tell 'cause my positive spirit, my positive attitude, plows right through the negative, but I've got an announcement to make. Everybody told me I should not announce this, but … I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days, and I just– I thought I was dying."
But die he did not.
"Today is the 19th of April, 2021, during clusterf--k pandemic, Chinese virus attack '21," Nugent said, before revealing with a great big smile, "I was tested positive today. I got the Chinese s--t."
In between hefty coughs and throat clears, Nugent was kind enough to let his fans know that the "s--ts" were actually the only thing he didn't experience. Among his symptoms were a "stuffed-up head" and "body aches."
"My God, what a pain in the ass," he added, noting he could "barely crawl out of bed the last few days."
In his cavalier video, Nugent initially praised doctors for their commitment to "making people well," then called them "goofballs" just minutes later.
After hacking a loogie and burping loudly into the camera, the controversial musician then doubled down on his previous stance, saying he refuses to get any one of the COVID-19 vaccines because "nobody knows what's in it."
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It was during a Facebook Live video in December that Nugent initially said he believed the coronavirus was "not a real pandemic" and called those who chose to follow CDC guidelines by wearing facial coverings "sheep."
"The once Great Britain, cause they ain't great any more," he said of the United Kingdom.
"They're a bunch of sheep... You know the new national anthem over there? You know the new national anthem around the world?" he added, before mimicking the sound sheep make. "Let me put this mask on."
