Comedian D.L. Hughley announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after collapsing onstage during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee.
The stand-up comedian, 57, lost consciousness while performing at the Zanies comedy nightclub on Friday night and was hospitalized, news outlets reported. On Saturday, Hughley posted a video on Twitter in which he said he was treated for exhaustion and dehydration afterward.
"I also tested positive for COVID-19, which blew me away," he says in the video. "I was what they call asymptomatic. I didn't have any symptoms, the classic symptoms."
Hughley plans to quarantine in his Nashville hotel room for 14 days. The remaining two nights of his four-night engagement at Zanies were canceled, according to the club's online calendar.
"Our friend D.L. Hughley had a medical emergency while performing on Friday and was hospitalized overnight. According to his publicist, he was suffering from exhaustion after working & traveling this week," the club posted on Facebook. "Love ya, D.L. and we'll look forward to seeing this King of Comedy back in Nashville soon!"
Hughley said he still hasn't exhibited any of the typical symptoms associated with the coronavirus, including shortness of breath and fever.
"So, in addition to all the other stuff you have to look out for," Hughley advises in the video, if you "pass out in the middle of a show, onstage, you probably need to get tested."
In addition to stand-up comedy, Hughley is also an actor, author and radio and television host. He starred in Spike Lee's 2000 concert film, "The Original Kings of Comedy," alongside Steve Harvey, Bernie Mac and Cedric the Entertainer.
Hughley also produced and starred in "The Hughleys," which aired on ABC and UPN from 1998 to 2002 and hosted a CNN talk show. He currently hosts the radio show "The D.L. Hughley Show," which is syndicated in dozens of markets.
"Thank you for your prayers and your well wishes — and a few more of them wouldn't hurt," Hughley says in the video.
Civil rights groups call on major corporations to stick with DEI programs
A broad group of civil rights organizations called on the CEOs and board members of major companies Thursday to maintain their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that have come under attack online and in lawsuits.
An open letter signed by 19 organizations and directed at the leaders of Fortune 1000 companies said companies that abandon their DEI programs are shirking their fiduciary responsibility to employees, consumers and shareholders.
The civil rights groups included the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
"Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, policies, and practices make business-sense and they're broadly popular among the public, consumers, and employees," their statement read. "But a small, well-funded, and extreme group of right-wing activists is attempting to pressure companies into abandoning their DEI programs."
Companies such as Ford, Lowes, John Deere, Molson Coors and Harley-Davidson recently announced they would pull back on their diversity, equity and inclusion policies after facing pressure from conservative activists who were emboldened by recent victories in the courtroom.
Many major corporations have been examining their diversity programs in the wake of a Supreme Court decision last year that declared race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional. Dozens of cases have been filed making similar arguments about employers. Critics of DEI programs say the initiatives provide benefits to people of one race or sexual orientation while excluding others.
In their letter, the civil rights organizations, which also included... Read More