Beenie Man canceled his Saturday night performance at Toronto's OVO Fest, with the reggae star saying he was denied a Canadian visa after contracting the Zika virus.
Beenie Man also shared an Instagram photo of himself, seemingly in considerable pain, undergoing blood tests. "No visa fi mi Canada show," the Jamaican singer wrote. "The same Zika mosquito gi mi dengue. Blood test, injections, pills. Wi a hol firm still."
Ticketmaster confirmed that Beenie Man had canceled his OVO appearance, telling ticket buyers in a statement, "Due to immigration issues Beenie Man will no longer be able to perform as part of OVO Fest 2016 on Saturday July 30th at TD Echo Beach in Toronto. In his place we have booked a slew of surprise special guests and of course Machel Montano will still headline as planned, with special guests of his own."
The World Health Organization writes that those suffering from the Zika virus face symptoms like mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. The symptoms generally last two to seven days. However, pregnant women who contract the Zika virus have given birth to babies born with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Beenie Man's revelation that he contracted the Zika virus comes on the same day that the first domestic outbreak of the disease was discovered in south Florida, where four people were diagnosed with the virus.
Via rollingstone.com