LL Cool J drops out of ABC’s New Year’s Eve special after catching COVID-19

NEW YORK — LL Cool J will have a more subdued New Year’s Eve than planned. The 53-year-old rapper was scheduled to headline “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” Friday night, but has been forced to cancel after contracting COVID-19. “I know it’s disappointing to the millions of fans but my test came back positive for COVID, which means I’ll no longer be able to perform as scheduled at NYRE,” the Long Island native said in a statement late Wednesday. “We were ready and I was really looking forward to ringing in 2022 in my hometown in a special way, but for now I wish everyon...