Gay adult performer Ian Frost posted Instagram videos of a “Rona Rave” in a New York City apartment that reportedly went from Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning. His party included at least one frontline medical worker, a pharmacist and roughly a dozen other men — none of whom wore face masks nor practiced social distancing.
Some of the attendees shared videos and images from the party on their social media. But Frost and his other party guests began deleting their accounts when people began to call them out for participating in an event that could easily pass on the highly contagious COVID-19 coronavirus to others.
Related: There’s a reason why it’s mostly white men protesting coronavirus protection measures
DJ Alec Brian spun tunes at the event, a face mask hanging from his neck, and later defended his attendance on Instagram.
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“As many of us are now unemployed, I had an opportunity to avail myself of some needed money to pay my bills,” he wrote. “I have been taking all precautions to socially distance, wear a mask and hand washing very seriously to stop the spread… If I have insulted anyone or made anyone feel uncomfortable by this event, I sincerely apologize as that was certainly not my intent.”
Another attendee, gay adult performer Shane Jackson, said in a text message exchange with writer Evan Ross Katz that all of the attendees have had coronavirus, telling critics, “Let people live.”
But even the CDC admits that “it is not yet known” whether having COVID-19 protects people from getting re-infected with the virus.
“This is a slap in the face to every health care worker, every person who has lost a loved one, every person struggling with finances because of shut down,” wrote drag performer and New York City Council candidate Marti Gould Cummings.
People are fucking dying left and right and the gays are having full on house parties on a Monday night in NYC. JAIL pic.twitter.com/6f8Q2YzAJf
— Phillip Henry (@MajorPhilebrity) May 5, 2020
hey @IanFrostok you should be ashamed of yourself. a literal party with a DJ as you flaunt your drinks around like this pandemic is no joke? are you kidding me? fucking clowns. pic.twitter.com/DQX21dBU0x
— jonathan gyllenhaal (@idgajon) May 5, 2020
HOW have they not deleted this?
No shame? We’re going to be inside until NEXT year at this rate 🥺😮 pic.twitter.com/M4Mm47gfHV— LittleyLittley (@LittleyLittley2) May 5, 2020
one of the gays at the @IanFrostok party is dating a frontline RN…. i swear gays really make it hard to stand up for. pic.twitter.com/VFOuen8h1x
— jonathan gyllenhaal (@idgajon) May 5, 2020
Pharmacist means he supplies the G bb https://t.co/igvW97c0kv
— Phillip Henry (@MajorPhilebrity) May 5, 2020
Before hosting the party, Frost said in an April 28 interview that he was spending his time during the coronavirus lockdown cooking for himself, designing clothes, and video-calling friends and family. He didn’t mention his intention to throw a party.
Thus far, New York has had over 319,000 cases of confirmed coronavirus and 19,415 deaths — over twice as many than any other U.S. state. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently extended his mandatory stay-at-home order until May 15 and said he’ll likely re-extend it even longer.
