Maynard James Keenan Has Strong Words for COVID-19 Deniers

Maynard James Keenan has bluntly addressed those who are doubting his account of having COVID-19.

Keenan revealed earlier this month he had COVID-19 in February and is still dealing with lingering symptoms of the virus. In a new appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, Keenan said, "I feel like there’s a bunch of people that … maybe I didn’t almost die, but I have friends who almost died. It was ugly. And then you have people going … apparently I’m being paid to say this. Eat a d---, dude."

Keenan first talked about his bout with COVID-19 in an interview with AZ Central where he said, "...it's real. And there's after-effects. I had to go through some major medications to undo the residual effects. Still coughing. There's still lung damage. Several of my friends, too. Very not old people, young people, in shape, runners, who contracted it as well. And they're still dealing with some of the after-effects. I lost a few family members."

When asked if he was feeling better months later, Keenan said, "Well no. I still have the cough. Every other day, I have these coughing fits because my lungs are still damaged at the tips. And I just got over the inflammation that was going on with my wrist and hands. I had an autoimmune attack on my system in the form of, like, a rheumatoid arthritis. Basically, from what I understand, it attacks weird spots and it's random. So that's what I got. That was my prize."