Chris Rock reveals he has contracted COVID-19, urges people to get vaccinated

Actor-comedian Chris Rock on Sunday encouraged people to get vaccinated while announcing he had contracted COVID- 19.

In his short message posted to Twitter, the comedian shared a bare-bones message with his more than 5 million followers announcing, "Hey, guys. I just found out I have COVID, trust me you don't want this. Get vaccinated."

The star did not go into detail about how he is feeling, but given the dire warning he issued his followers, it seems he's at the very least experiencing some kind of discomfort or illness.

According to Variety, while a guest on 'The Tonight Show' in May, Rock told host Jimmy Fallon that he had been vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson and Johnson shot, meaning his current case would be a breakthrough instance of coronavirus.

At the time, he joked to Fallon, "You know, I skipped the line. I didn't care. I used my celebrity, Jimmy," he told Fallon. "I was like, 'Step aside, Betty White. Step aside, old people. Kiss my ass! I did 'Pootie Tang.' Let me on the front of the line.'"

"That's the food stamps of vaccines," he joked about the Johnson and Johnson shot. Comparing it to the movie 'Titanic', he said, "I was like Billy Zane on the Titanic. Leo died! Billy Zane lived to see another day. I don't want to be Leo at the bottom of the ocean. Billy Zane got another woman after that! You don't want to be Leo. Well, in real life you want to be Leo."

Earlier, in a January interview with Gayle King, Rock said "Let me put it this way: Do I take Tylenol when I get a headache? Yes. Do I know what's in Tylenol? I don't know what's in Tylenol, Gayle. I just know my headache's gone. Do I know what's in a Big Mac, Gayle? No. I just know it's delicious."

While the COVID vaccines do not completely prevent infection, vaccinated individuals have a far greater chance of having milder infections and not requiring hospitalization. Nearly all deaths due to COVID-19 have been in unvaccinated people.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Rock has noted on different occasions that he takes the pandemic seriously, and he encouraged others to do the same, and wear a mask.

The 56-year-old actor recently starred in 'Saw' sequel 'Spiral' and last worked on an untitled David O. Russell film with Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek and Margot Robbie that filmed in Los Angeles last spring. It is scheduled for a November 2022 release. The film's brief description is that it is about a doctor and a lawyer who "form an unlikely partnership," reported Deadline.

With his COVID announcement, Rock has joined the list of celebrities who have publicly announced breakthrough COVID diagnoses such as Melissa Joan Hart and Wendy Williams.

( With inputs from ANI )