{R&B star Akon is accused of going to extreme lengths to avoid catching Ebola after crowd surfing in giant ‘bubble’ at African concert that was held in DR Congo capital Goma}
He ended show by climbing inside giant bubble and rolling over fans
Akon has performed same crowd-pleaser at gigs in Australia and Dubai
But some websites say he did it to ‘avoid contracting Ebola from anybody’
42 people have died of Ebola in DRC since outbreak began six months ago
The ‘Locked Up’ singer climbed inside the airtight blow-up during a performance in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday and rolled over the crowd, pushed along by the outstretched hands of 60,000 screaming concert-goers.
But his actions prompted breathless reports from certain media outlets that, rather than just being a creative way of performing closer to his fans, it was a cynical attempt to shield himself from the deadly virus that is sweeping West Africa.
‘The Ebola virus is no joke,’ harrumphed The Source website. ‘And to avoid contracting it from anybody, when Akon left the stage to crowd surf with the people that were attending his concert, he did so in a huge plastic protective bubble.’
What the website did not report was that the five-time Grammy nominee has performed inside the stage prop on a number of previous occasions including in Perth, Australia, and Dubai, both in 2010. Neither of those countries were battling Ebola outbreaks at the time.
‘As Akon, I see myself as a child of Africa,’ the artist told the crowd, who is of Senegalese descent and spent time in Senegal as a child, which he calls his ‘hometown’.
While he was born in St. Louis, Missouri, he frequently travels to Africa where his West African-styled vocals mixed with East Coast and Southern beats are hugely popular.
In 2011, Forbes ranked him fifth in its list of the most powerful celebrities in Africa, where he has his own charity for underprivileged children called Konfidence Foundation. He also owns a diamond mine in South Africa.
The 41-year-old, whose hits include ‘Sweetest Girl’ and ‘Smack That’, was was not available to confirm or deny the accusations and nobody from his publicity team have yet responded to calls.
Daily Mail
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