Almost as much as he’s known for his long string of hits or his outsized personality and antics as a businessman, Diddy is notorious for his lavish parties, including his over-the-top, all-white Memorial Day shindigs and his blowout New Year’s Eve celebrations each year. However, for the second year in a row, Diddy has canceled his New Year’s Eve party over COVID-19 concerns as the new Omicron variant of the virus — or “Omarion” variant, if you’re feeling cheeky — continues to spread.
According to TMZ, the Omicron surge in Miami, where the party was to be held, convinced Diddy that his 500-guest hootenanny would put him and his fellow stars in jeopardy. This would appear to be a wise move according to the advice of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci, who recommended on CNN to “stay away from that this year,” that being “a New Year’s Eve party, where you have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating, you do not know the status of the vaccination.”
Diddy isn’t the only one to cancel his planned NYE celebration. Four days ago, garage rock revivalists The Strokes announced the cancelation of their own New Year’s Eve concerts, although NBC’s planned special featuring Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson appears to be proceeding as scheduled. If you’re content with staying in but still fiending for something to do, you can check out TikTok’s own planned concert with Rico Nasty, Charlie Puth, and Kali Uchis from the comfort of whichever device you use to scroll the hours away.