Rapper Ludacris drinking water straight out of a glacier has fans worrying about the same thing

Rap star Ludacris took time off from the pops and beats of the music sphere and allowed himself a serene moment to reconnect with nature. The rapper, originally Christopher Brian Bridges, dropped by one of the coolest spots in Alaska, eager to cross off one thing from his bucket list, or what he called the “F**k It” list. In a viral video posted to his Instagram, viewed over 61 million times, Ludacris (@ludacris) rejoices as he tastes glacial water for the first time ever.

The Get Back rapper, 47, stood on the Knik Glacier, 40 miles from Anchorage–the most populous city of Alaska, talking to his fans about his wishlist while a crisp blue glacier pool sat in the backdrop. "Half the world's glaciers are here in Alaska, I couldn't come here and just have a show," he said. The musician was in the U.S. to perform at the Alaska State Fair but could not resist visiting the pristine glaciers encompassing the landmass. Marking the moment, Ludacris noted, “I’ve never tasted fresh glacial water ever in my life. And this is the first. Here we go!” He then walked to the edge of the glacier and proceeded to collect some water into his water bottle. 

Seemingly excited, the rapper gave one final glance at the camera before tasting the glacier water. After a brief moment of realization, the Baby rapper exclaimed in disbelief. “Oh my God!” he yelled dashing away from the edge and out of the frame, thrilled. Furthermore, he had a precious insight to add in the post’s caption too. “Water so good it tastes like God made it. Well, because he did,” the note read. While the feat was supremely exhilarating for the hip-hop artist, the internet was left divided. Netizens reacted to his stunt with creative comments, and many were concerned about his health and safety.

One person (@htx._.jp) said, “Bro just drank 200-million-year-old disease,” while another fan (@cristian.andress) joked, “These Sprite commercials are getting wild.” “He's abought to gain six new unheard of diseases,” wrote a concerned netizen (@walstonjayden). Nevertheless, several fans were intrigued by the rapper’s great. Someone (@_alexyonka) quipped, “I bet that water was Luda-crisp” while another (@grapejuiceboys) made a rather strange remark about this attempt might be "ritual."

To address the concerns raised by some of the fans, consuming melted glacial water without filtration, while is not 100% safe, is not as dangerous as indicated on the internet, as reported by Food & Wine. However, it is not untrue that glacial water harbors harmful bacteria and parasites that could potentially impact our health. Glaciologist Dr. Gabriel Wolken, a program manager for the Climate and Cryosphere Hazards Program at the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, said that the risk factors vary depending on the quantity of water consumed and the source.

Similarly, a 2023 project report by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research WSL suggested that microorganisms thriving in glacial water have adapted to the cold climate for millions of years. Therefore, the potential release of a pathogen from the melting ice and thawing permafrost is very low. In the Swiss Alps, there is no information about the discovery of infectious pathogens in its melting glaciers yet. 

You can follow @ludacris on Instagram for more updates.