Tyler Perry pays tribute to Charles Gregory, 'warm, loving and hilarious' hairstylist who died of COVID-19

Entertainment mogul Tyler Perry is pleading with the black community to take COVID-19 seriously and practice social distancing after the loss of his longtime crew member, Charles Gregory Ross.

Ross revealed in an Instagram post on March 25 that he'd been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

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He died Thursday, Perry wrote.

"The man was warm, loving and hilarious. We all loved to see him coming and hear his laughter. Charles lost his battle with COVID-19 today. It saddens me to think of him dying this way. My sincerest prayers are with his family," Perry wrote.

Added actress Octavia Spencer: "My heart is truly broken to learn that Charles Gregory lost his battle with the corona virus. My prayers and thoughts are with his family. #RIPCharlesGregory"

Other stars who paid tribute to Ross online were director Lee Daniels and Oscar winner Viola Davis.

In light of his friend's death, Perry is asking the public to stop all social gatherings and to practice social distancing. As the coronavirus continues to rip through the nation, black communities have been infected at an alarming rate.

"While everyone can contract this virus it is black people who are dying from it in much larger numbers. This thing is real, black people," Perry wrote. "You can get it, and you will get it if we don’t do what we're being told to do."

The latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that "black populations might be disproportionately affected by COVID-19." Of the people who have died from COVID-19 in Louisiana and Chicago, 70% are black. African-Americans account for 18% of COVID-19 deaths in New York.

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• Tracking the spread in the US and Worldwide: Coronavirus map