'I didn’t have symptoms': Comedian D L Hughley collapses on stage, diagnosed with Covid-19

The actor and stand-up star was also suffering with exhaustion and dehydration

D.L. Hughley confirmed he was suffering with the coronavirus in an Instagram video. Instagram / D L Hughley

D L Hughley has been told he has Covid-19 after collapsing on stage during a performance in the US.

The comedian and actor, who also hosts talk and radio shows, lost consciousness during a gig at Zanies comedy club in Nashville.

After initially being treated with exhaustion and dehydration, Hughley was also told of the coronavirus diagnosis, he revealed in an Instagram video posted on Monday, June 20.

"I'm just being released from St Thomas Hospital in Nashville, I want to thank them for taking such good care of me," the comedian, who starred in Spike Lee's The Original Kings of Comedy, said. "I want to thank you all for your well wishes and your prayers."

Hughley said Covid-19 was diagnosed only because medical staff ran a “battery of tests”.

“[That] blew me away,” he said. “I was asymptomatic – I didn’t have any symptoms. I didn’t have flu-like symptoms, I didn’t have shortness of breath, I didn’t have difficulty breathing, I didn’t have a cough, I didn’t have a low-grade fever, I didn’t have a loss of smell or taste. Apparently, I just lost consciousness.”

The stand-up star confirmed he would now self-quarantine at his hotel in Nashville.

The US currently has more than 2.3 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, including more than 120,000 deaths.

Hughley said he hoped his illness was now “as bad as it gets”.

“Maybe not, but thank you, I appreciate your thoughts and your prayers, and they did not go unnoticed,” the comedian said.

Hughley joins a growing list of famous names who have shared their battles with Covid-19, including Tom Hanks, Idris Elba and the singer Pink.