Diplo Headlines Unmasked Super Bowl Party in Tampa, Plays Morgan Wallen for Crowd

Steve Aoki and 50 Cent were also on this weekend's pre-game bill

BY Allie GregoryPublished Feb 8, 2021

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took home the win at this weekend's Super Bowl, but ahead of the team's celebrations, it appears Florida decided it deserved to party the only way it knows how — with a potential super-spreader event headlined by Diplo.

Prior to last night's football show, the producer and an unmasked crowd of roughly 2,000 people took over WTR Tampa Pool. As seen in videos obtained by TMZ, the party largely ignored COVID-19 precautions, with almost zero attendees wearing a mask while everyone generally ignored physical distancing recommendations.

What's more, Diplo paid homage to controversial country music star Morgan Wallen by spinning his song "Heartless," days after a video of the singer yelling a racial slur surfaced online.

In true 2021 form, Wallen's record sales have skyrocketed following the incident, landing his album Dangerous: The Double Album the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart this week. It's a darkly fitting scenario, considering this is the same chap who got booted from his initial SNL performance for not following COVID-19 protocols back in October.

In a statement obtained by TMZ, the Tampa event organizers said that safety protocols including social distancing were planned to be strictly enforced. They had promised enforced mask-wearing by all staff and guests, as well as mandatory temperature checks, sanitization stations and extra cleaning protocols. Though all of that seemingly went out the window for Diplo's show.

In addition to Diplo's set, Steve Aoki and 50 Cent also performed at the pre-game festivities, with the performers and guests adopting a similarly reckless attitude toward safety measures throughout the weekend. 

See videos of the event below.




 


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