Ashanti was forced to cancel her Verzuz battle against Keyshia Cole on Saturday night after testing positive for COVID-19.
The singer, 40, shared her diagnosis in an Instagram post on Saturday, initially saying she was determined to carry on with her musical showdown because she was “OK and not in any pain.”
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But the event was ultimately postponed until Jan. 9, she announced in a video message posted later that day.
“It’s very, very crazy,” the “Foolish” singer shared. “Never in a million years did I think I would get COVID.”
Ashanti, who coughed a couple of times throughout her address, added that she was “super-bummed” by the turn in events. While she insisted she was still up for competing in Verzuz from her home computer, she and Apple Music, which sponsors Verzuz, decided to cancel out of concern that the technical production might be flawed.
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Her Verzuz competition, Cole, was among those sending “get well” messages, with the likes of Tamar Braxton and Paul Wall offering support. Some fans, however, complained about the Verzuz battle being called off and urged the “Always on Time” star to push through her illness to perform.
In an announcement from Verzuz, producers stood their ground, telling fans “we cannot put anyone at risk in the process.”
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“We all go through lessons in life … and hopefully this serves as a lesson that this pandemic is very real,” Ashanti added in her video post.
