Coronavirus: ‘Law & Order: SVU’ star Ice-T discusses family’s close call

Ice-T plays a tough cop on television, but the “Law & Order: SVU” star is not afraid to admit that he is worried by the coronavirus pandemic.

The rapper made a virtual appearance Wednesday on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and gave a medical update about Steve Austin, his father-in-law. Austin, the father of Ice-T’s wife, Coco Austin, spent nine days at home with COVID-19 before he eventually went to the hospital, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Coco’s dad is a Harley Davidson-riding, no-masking type of dude,” Ice-T told Fallon. “(Coronavirus) put him on his back.”

Ice-T, 62, born Tracy Lauren Marrow, told Fallon he had fears about contracting the coronavirus and was not ashamed to tell people he was scared of it, People reported. He added that while some social media posters questioned his toughness, Ice-T was not afraid to open up about the risks of the coronavirus.

“One guy wrote me and was like, ‘You seem scared.’ Yeah, I’m scared of your contaminated breath, OK? Is there a problem with that?“ Ice-T told Fallon, “I’ve made it through so much in my life. I don’t want to die because of this, and especially with a new daughter. So, yeah, I’m aware, and I’m concerned, and I’m cautious. If you want to call that scared, call it scared.”

The actor said the pandemic had “taken a toll” on himself and his family, and he was especially concerned about his father-in-law.

“They held him for about three days in the ICU,” Ice-T told Fallon. “Then they call you and make those next-of-kin calls, and that’s when it’s scary. We might have to put him on a ventilator. And it took him a month to make it out of the hospital, God bless him. Now he’s home, but his lungs are damaged indefinitely. COVID attacks your lungs and it can leave your lungs ruined.”

Ice-T added that he knew several people who have already died from COVID-19 complications.

“It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, I can’t catch it,’ but once you know people -- I mean, Jimmy, I know about eight people that have actually passed away,” Ice-T told the talk show host. “So, I mean, I don’t need much more proof than that to know I don’t want to play with it, you know?”

Cox Media Group