Fact Check

Does Ted Nugent Have COVID-19 After Saying It Was Fake?

The musician has amplified bogus claims about the virus in the past.

Published April 20, 2021

 (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)
Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
Musician Ted Nugent revealed in April 2021 that he has tested positive for COVID-19.

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Detroit rocker Ted Nugent, who previously claimed that COVID-19 is “not a real pandemic” and a “scam,” has tested positive for the virus. According to a Facebook live video posted on his official page on April 19, 2021, he revealed the news himself.

In the video he used racist language claiming the virus was “Chinese”:

I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days. I thought I was dying. Just a clusterfuck. I was tested positive today. I got the Chinese shit. I’ve got a stuffed up head, body aches. My God, what a pain in the ass. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days.

The video can be seen here:

In past statements, Nugent has called the pandemic shutdown a "scam." In a Christmas message in late 2020, he said COVID-19 was "not a real pandemic," and that he was not going to get a vaccine.

We have previously covered Nugent’s bogus claims, including one where he asked why there weren’t lockdowns for “COVID one through 18.” He also echoed erroneous claims that numbers of reported COVID-19 deaths have been exaggerated.

Given that Nugent himself admitted to testing positive, we rate this claim as “True.”

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

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