Ozzy Osbourne and Nine Inch Nails Cancel SXSW Appearances Due to Coronavirus
The coronavirus hits just keep on comin’: Slipknot, Trivium and Lacuna Coil have all cancelled tours of Asia over concerns about the virus, an attendee of a recent Tool show in New Zealand has since been confirmed to be infected and could potentially have spread the illness to other concertgoers, Korn fans are buying branded surgical masks in droves… and now Ozzy Osbourne and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have both cancelled previously-scheduled appearances at this year’s South by Southwest Festival due to apprehension caused by COVID-19.
Reznor and Ross were set to appear as part of a keynote discussion about HBO’s acclaimed Watchmen series, which they scored. WarnerMedia, which owns HBO (and therefore Watchmen), “has decided it best not to move forward with activations at SXSW,” meaning that all of their events are cancelled. In response to the cancellation, Reznor and Ross tweeted the following statement:
“We’re sorry we won’t be giving our Watchmen keynote at SXSW this year (because we had some surprises in store!) However, it was the right decision. We will see you soon – be safe and smart. -T+A”
Ozzy, meanwhile, was set to discuss The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, his upcoming documentary. He has yet to release a statement regarding the cancellation… although given all the health issues from which he has suffered in the past year, it’s not shocking that he’d want to take extra precautions now (according to CNN, “the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to severe complications” from the virus).
Other companies that have cancelled events at this year’s SXSW include Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Studios, Intel, Vevo, and TikTok. Still, during a recent press conference, Dr. Mark Escott, the interim medical director and health authority for Austin Public Health, asserted that there is currently “no evidence that closing South by Southwest or other activities is going to make this community safer.”
SXSW, which is scheduled to take place from March 13 to March 22, will still proceed as planned despite the numerous cancellations.
[via Kerrang!]
