Word surfaced last night that Dave Chappelle had tested positive for coronavirus. The veteran comedian was in the middle of a multi-night residency at Austin concert venue Stubb’s, which he was co-headlining with Joe Rogan.
During a gig earlier in the week, Chappelle and Rogan were photographed maskless with Elon Musk and Grimes. As Grimes herself had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, some speculated that she was the one who transmitted the virus to Chappelle. But in a statement to TMZ, Rogan said that was not the case: “The person that gave covid to Dave was NOT Elon’s partner, Grimes.”
Unless Rogan suddenly became a health department official with an expertise in contact tracing and forgot to tell everyone, it’s not entirely clear how the professional podcaster can definitively say who gave COVID to who.
Rogan also told TMZ that he himself was “not exposed to the person who had covid and I have tested negative every day this week.” (Again, it’s not clear how he knows this.)
Grimes announced her positive diagnosis in an Instagram Story on January 9th, writing, “Finally got COVID, but weirdly enjoying the DayQuil fever dream … 2021.” The CDC recommends that individuals isolate for at least 10 days after their first positive test or symptom onset.
Editor’s Note: Stay safe by picking up one of our custom face masks. A portion of the proceeds will benefit MusiCares’ COVID-19 Artist Relief fund supporting independent musicians.
