dl-hughley

DL Hughley tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing on-stage at Nashville comedy show

Comedian DL Hughley has tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing on-stage during a show at Nashville comedy club Zanies on Friday night. Initially, his manager said Hughley was just suffering from “severe exhaustion and dehydration” but in a later instagram post, he said he had tested positive for coronavirus. “They ran a battery of tests, and I also tested positive for COVID-19, which blew me away,” DL said. “I was what they call asymptomatic. I didn’t have flu-like symptoms, I didn’t have shortness of breath, I didn’t have difficulty breathing, I didn’t have a cough, I didn’t have a low grade fever. I still don’t have a fever. I didn’t have a loss of smell or taste, apparently I just lost consciousness.. So, in addition to all the other stuff you have to look out for, if your ass pass out in the middle of a show, onstage, you probably need to get tested.” DL also said he was going back to his hotel room to quarantine for 14 days. You can watch his instagram message, and video of the incident at Zanies, below.

Zanies canceled the remainder of its shows for the weekend and on Sunday announced a temporary closure on their Facebook, writing, “We have received notification that D.L. Hughley, who performed at Zanies on Thursday and Friday, June 18-19, has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Zanies has closed and will only reopen after a comprehensive cleaning process conducted by a specialist. Zanies will continue to follow Metro Nashville Health Department reopening phase guidelines. We encourage any of our patrons who may feel some risk of exposure to contact the Metro Health at http://asafenashville.org. Zanies wishes its friend D.L. a quick recovery and a return to the stage.”

You might be surprised, given that the live music industry is currently at a standstill due to COVID-19, that there are live comedy shows happening at all. Fellow comedian Jen Kirkman wrote on Twitter after learning about DL, “Comedy clubs. DL did a show – passed out. He has Covid. He didn’t know. He had no symptoms. No fever. Fever tests are BS. He had no mask. Audience had no mask. You must require audiences to wear masks. Period. I canceled all my shows this year cuz of this reckless shit.”

Zanies Nashville had Rob Schneider booked this week and their July calendar has Nikki Glaser, Dan Soder, David Spade and more. Zanies’ other locations in Chicago and Rosemont, IL do not have shows lined up till September.

https://twitter.com/JenKirkman/status/1274526939999420416