As parts of Africa battle a grave Ebola crisis, rapper Akon performed in Democratic Republic of Congo — inside of a giant hamster ball.
Twitter users have accused the hip hop star of donning the bubble during Sunday’s concert in Goma as a means of protecting himself from the virus that’s killed more than 3,000 people.
But Akon probably wasn’t protecting himself from the deadly disease. He has used the giant orb at a number of concerts, including 2010 gigs in Australia and Dubai — four years and thousands of miles away from the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
The ball makes crowd surfing easier, and the “Smack That” rhymer only wore it while tumbling through the audience, not during his on-stage performance.
Akon has not commented on the matter.
Still, the bubble stunt hasn’t stopped fans’ fury about the alleged Ebola-prevention tactic.
“The organisers of that concert need to whooped. So protect Akon, the crowd can share Ebola amongst themselves for all u care,” one Twitter user vented.
Others light-heartedly joked about the massive orb.
“I need that ball Akon was rolling in to avoid catching ebola,” another Twitter user wrote. “I’m going to work in it!!”
The major 2014 Ebola outbreak is centered in three West African countries: Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. More than 7,100 cases have been reported in those countries and 3,330 of those were deadly.
A second, smaller outbreak has sickened 70 in Democratic Republic of Congo. Forty-two people have died in the Central African country.
Akon was born in Missouri, but spent much of his childhood in Senegal, a west African country he calls him “hometown.”
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Source: nydailynews.com