Coco Austin’s Dad Hospitalized for COVID-19, Ice-T Says

Ice-T and Coco Austin are dealing with an illness in the family. On Tuesday, Ice-T shared a photo of his father-in-law Steve Austin on Instagram, which featured Austin’s dad lying in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask on. In his caption for the post, the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star wrote that his wife’s father checked into the hospital on Monday amidst rising cases of coronavirus in Arizona.

Ice-T noted that his father-in-law is currently hospitalized in one of the states which have seen a large number of coronavirus cases, as he said in his caption alongside the photo of Austin’s father, “Covid in AZ.” As of right now, Austin has not yet commented on the news of her father’s hospitalization on social media. According to PEOPLE, Arizona is one of the locations in the United States that has seen a rise in new coronavirus cases. The state is reportedly close to running out of hospital beds as there are more than 1,400 hospitalizations in Arizona, which is their highest recorded number yet.

Ice-T has frequently been vocal on social media regarding his thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic. In late April, he revealed that he personally knows six people who have died from COVID-19, including his friend and fellow rapper Fred the Godson. On Twitter, he wrote that he was “in shock” over his friend’s passing and urged everyone to take the pandemic seriously.

“My friend @FREDTHEGODSON just passed away today from CORONAVIRUS complications.. People that say this s— aint real should get punched in the face.. This is not a Fn game,” he wrote. “So far I personally know 6 people that have been Killed by this Virus.. Just because YOU may not know anyone.. Don’t be stupid. I’m done with Twitter for the day… SMH… Rest in Peace homie.” The Law & Order: SVU actor did not elaborate on who the other five coronavirus victims that he knew were. As for Fred the Godson, he was a New York City-based rapper who had experienced mainstream success in the past but was most known for being a notable underground figure.

More recently, Ice-T criticized the fact that some individuals have taken issue with wearing masks amidst the pandemic. On Sunday, he posted a tweet that featured what he thinks about those who are choosing to not wear a mask while out in public. He wrote, “At this point, wearing a Mask in public is more of an IQ test..” His tweet has since amassed over 600,000 likes and counting.