Say it ain’t so! Tonight’s highly anticipated Verzuz battle featuring Ashanti and Keyshia Cole has been pushed back to January 2021.
Hours before the scheduled event was set to take place, Ashanti took to social media to announce that she’d tested positive for COVID-19.
The R&B singer and Keyshia Cole were to go hit-for-hit in the same venue, however, Ashanti’s diagnosis has obviously put a screeching halt to those plans.
“Hey all, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I tested positive for COVID-19,” Ashanti wrote on Instagram. “I’m OK and not in any pain. I’m actually down to do the Verzuz from my house … We’re trying to figure it all out!!!”
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Though the most recent Verzuz battles have happened in person, the first events were done from the artists’ respective homes and studios, partly because the platform was no new also because they were done while we were on a nationwide quarantine, and folks weren’t really leaving their homes like that.
Ashanti making arrangements to do the battle from the comfort of her home would be possible, though we’re not sure how that would work logitistically, especially at the last minute.
Regardless, Verzuz chose to simply postpone the event by several weeks, so it looks like we’ll have to wait for what would have been one of the biggest battles to date.
“We cannot put anyone at risk in the process,” read a post on Verzuz’s Instagram page. “First time this has struck us so close to showtime. We apologize to our incredible audience! Get well soon, Ashanti … Wear a mask, stay inside, and take COVID-19 seriously. It’s truly affecting our community.”
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The Ashanti and Keyshia Cole Verzuz battle is now scheduled for January 9th, 2021.
Fans speculated that Ashanti could have contracted the virus while traveling to and from Africa recently, but Ashanti addressed those claims on Instagram Live Saturday night, insisting that she caught the virus from a family member after she returned home.
“No, I did not get COVID from traveling. I did not get COVID from being in Africa or anything like that,” the singer said, adding that she and those around her had tested negative multiple times throughout their trip. “… No one tested positive. So I did not get it from traveling. I actually got it from a family member when I came home … I hugged the family member that ended up being positive. I didn’t know he was positive, he didn’t know he was positive.”
Ashanti said she received her test results Friday night and was tested seven times by the same company.
