A familiar scene was set Sunday night at an Atlanta nightclub.
Bottles were popping. Music was booming from speakers. And faces of yesteryear and present-day hip-hop, from Juvenile to 2 Chainz, were among partygoers for Reginae Carter’s 22nd birthday.
To the chagrin of health experts and several Twitter users, the unfortunate trend displayed at the weekend party was that partygoers were unmasked and gathered en masse — directly breaking several CDC guidelines for the coronavirus.
Sunday had marked yet another grim milestone for the nation and Georgia, with a record high of more than 93,000 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Despite those statistics and continued recommendations to stay home, Grammy Award winner Lil Wayne stood among what appeared to be dozens of fans and friends, who were not wearing masks but had their phones handy, heralding his daughter’s special day at Republic Lounge in West Midtown, according to several social media videos.
“This is the celebration of my beautiful daughter Reginae Carter,” Wayne announced. “Let’s have fun.”
The Louisiana-bred rapper also performed with many of his past collaborators. The response online varied from users expressing FOMO, fear of missing out, to others condemning the party for serving as a potential superspreader event.
The party was 1990s/2000s-themed, and several other Atlanta celebrities posted photos early this week from the gathering. Kandi Burrus, songwriter and star of “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” posted on Instagram about the party.
Some attendees, including Zonnique Pullins, were criticized for attending. Pullins, who is T.I.’s stepdaughter, is pregnant. She said the concerns about her unborn child were overblown in a tweet. T.I. was the subject of similar reviews after video circulated of his album release party at the Gold Room in October. Both parties were added to a list of album release parties and other happenings at nightclubs across Atlanta that spawned concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in the region.
There have been no comments offered from Republic Lounge or the Carters about the apparent lack of protocol for COVID-19 at Sunday’s party. City officials, including Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, have pointed to the lack of statewide mandates on venues and bars as the cause of such parties. Beyond the lack of adherence to guidelines, some club parties in recent months have led to numerous violent or deadly outcomes.
“The Mayor’s advisory mask mandate and orders on gathering remain in effect,” a spokesperson for Bottoms told CNN in a statement. “However, State Orders — which supersede decisions made at the local level — currently allow bars and venues to remain open.”
The issue is not specific to Atlanta, though. Stars including Kendall Jenner have also hosted large parties during the pandemic, with several attendees appearing in photos and videos unmasked and gathered closely. Jenner faced lambasting on social media for her 25th birthday Halloween bash held in West Hollywood during the summer.
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