The 'Psycho' hitmaker performed for the sold-out crowd at the Pepsi Center on Thursday night, before Governor of Colorado Jarad Polis declares a local state of emergency and the rapper cancels the rest of his tour.

• Mar 14, 2020

AceShowbiz - Post Malone has gotten on the wrong side of the public. Many musical acts have taken the drastic measure of postponing performances since coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, but the "Better Now" rapper's decision to push forward with his sold-out concert in Denver, Colorado has left many fuming.

On Thursday, March 12, the Pepsi Center announced on Twitter, "Tonight's Post Malone concert at Pepsi Center is proceeding as scheduled." It continued, "We continue to monitor the current COVID-19 situation with local, state and federal authorities. Please continue to monitor venue websites & social media channels regarding any updates to upcoming events."

Since many have urged Malone to cancel his show, the announcement came as an invitation to criticisms. "Wow. Wildly irresponsible and greedy. Thanks for the $300 loss. Won't be going, those will be empty seats. Definitely will not spend with Pepsi Center in the future either," one said. Another stated, "this is a terrible decision," before adding in the same post, "I dont know how to explain to you that you should care about other people."

On that same night, Denver's 9News reporter Ryan Haarer shared a video from inside Malone's concert venue. "Getting more video from inside @pepsicenter," he wrote along with the clip. "Thought I was seeing empty seats for @PostMalone in the middle of COVID-19 outbreak. Turns out... it's packed. So much for social distancing."

The footage was quickly picked up by many. Tommy Vietor, a former spokesperson for President Barack Obama, tweeted angrily, "We didn't suspend every major sport to have Post Malone screw this up for us. Get your s**t together, Colorado." Fellow 9News journalist Marc Sallinger sarcastically wrote, "NBA season suspended. NCAA tournament cancelled. NHL Season suspended. MLB Season postponed. Denver schools shut down. CO in state of emergency. Post Malone concert? Packed."

Malone's Thursday concert came after concert promoters, Live Nation and AEG, announced that they are postponing all major events as preventive measure to the spread of COVID-19. National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) have also put a pause on their seasons, while Broadway has closed its doors for a month.

On Friday, March 13, Colorado Governor Jared Polis called for cancellation of public gatherings of more than 250 people.