RAPPER 50 Cent has apologised to fans upset by the news that the plug has been pulled on the early spin-offs of his TV series Power due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
With New York State currently suffering the highest number of cases in America, almost all television and movie-making in the Big Apple has shut down.
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As a result, the Starz network behind the Power franchise made the decision over the weekend to postpone production of Power Book II: Ghost and Power Book III: Raising Kanan for at least a week – and perhaps longer.
The decision infuriated some viewers of the popular crime drama but 50 Cent, who also stars in the Power franchise, insisted he had no choice.
Taking to Instagram on Saturday night, the musician and actor – real name Curtis Jackson – posted an exasperated emoji and wrote: “I had to do it, we were the last production still working.”
Replying to the message, one person said: “Damn. Right when we need power in case they make us stay indoors.”
Another write: "WOW this corona s**t is [f*****g] up everything.” Someone else posted: ‘What we are gonna watch now when we’re ill with coronavirus, your shows are the illest.”
One fan told 50 not to fret, adding: “Things will bounce back better.”
While the halt of production on the Power spinoffs are effective for a week, there will be not postponement of the writers rooms on the episodes starring Mary J Blige and Omar Epps as all the scripts on the two Courtney Kemp created series have been completed.
The official trailer for Power Book II: Ghost was released last month, featuring Blige, Michael Rainey Jr, Method Man, Shane Johnson, and Naturi Naughton.
The series had been anticipated to premiere in June but may be pushed back due to COVID-19.
The Power franchise joins the long list of other US television series that have stopped filming due to rising concerns of the virus, including Grey’s Anatomy, Empire, American Idol, as well as Marvel’s move onto the small screen.
Aside from TV, Coronavirus has hit all areas of the entertainment industry, with sports fixtures and tournaments postponed and even the release of the latest James Bond movie No Time To Die pushed back to November.
Britain’s death toll leapt from 21 to 35 yesterday and included Nick Matthews, 59 — the youngest UK victim.
The number of cases rose from 1,140 to 1,391 yesterday.
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