Ever since the latest variant of Covid-19, Omicron, has gained ground in the US, jokes calling it the “Omarion” variant, after the R&B singer, have been rampant.
But Omarion is taking the jokes in stride.
“Hi, this is Omarion. I am an artist, not a variant,” he said in a TikTok video posted Saturday. “So please be aware, if you just so happen to run into me on the street, you don’t have to isolate for five days, nor do you have to have a negative test result to dance to my music.”
Omarion continued addressing the joke in two additional videos, also wishing his fans a happy new year.
The singer, who first became famous as a member of B2K and is known for songs like “Ice Box” and “Post to Be,” has released six solo albums over the course of his career and — like he emphasizes on TikTok — is notably not a variant. But Omicron, of the Covid-19 variety, has contributed to a spike in Covid-19 cases as the most contagious strain of the virus that we’ve seen thus far.
Though studies have suggested that this variant may cause less severe disease than the Delta variant, it has still wreaked havoc on hospital capacity.
“It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen, even at the peak of the prior surges of Covid,” Dr. James Phillips, who works in Washington, DC, told CNN last week.
