Donald Glover has revealed he pulled out of Childish Gambino gigs last year because he suffered a stroke.
The 42-year-old actor and musician postponed several of his Childish Gambino tour dates in 2024 to focus on his physical health, but didn’t give any further details.
Just over a year later, the Redbone hitmaker has detailed the slew of health issues that led to the cancellations, also including a hole in his heart, a stroke and a broken foot.
The admission came as he performed at Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw event on Saturday, November 22.
Recounting the health scare, he reportedly told the crowd: ‘I had a really bad pain in my head in Louisiana, and I did the show anyway.
‘I couldn’t really see well, so when we went to Houston, I went to the hospital, and the doctor was like, “You had a stroke.’”
He continued: ‘And the first thing I thought was like, “Oh, here I am still copying Jamie Foxx’ [who suffered a stroke in 2023]. That’s really like the second thing. The first thing was like, “I’m letting everybody down.”‘
Donald added: ‘I broke my foot, they found a hole in my heart.
‘So I had this surgery, and then I had to have another surgery.’
The ordeal has made the Community actor realise the importance of living the life you want.
What are the symptoms of a stroke?
The NHS outlines that the symptoms of a stroke can be remembered by using the acronym FAST, which stands for Face, Arms, Speech and Time.
When an individual suffers a stroke, they may not be able to smile, their face may have dropped to one side or their mouth or eye may have dropped.
They may not be able to lift both of their arms and keep them up, as one of their arms could be feeling weak or numb.
They may exhibit slurred or unclear speech, or be unable to talk at all and have difficulty understanding if someone else is speaking to them.
People are urged to call 999 if any of these symptoms are spotted.
The charity Stroke Association offers a helpline for anyone who has suffered or been affected by stroke, or if you want further information. You can call the helpline on 0303 3033 100 or email helpline@stroke.org.uk.
Offering his words of wisdom, he told the audience: ‘They say everybody has two lives, and the second life starts when you realise you have one. You should be living your life how you want. If we have to do this again, it can only get better.’
The Hollywood star and rapper was set to perform the US leg of his New World farewell tour until early October 2024, but all the remaining shows were put on ice.
He wrote in a statement on X at the time: ‘Hey everyone.
‘Unfortunately I have to postpone the rest of the North American tour to focus on my physical health for a few weeks.
‘Hold onto your tickets. ALL tickets will be honored for the upcoming dates in North America when they are rescheduled.
‘Thanks for the privacy. Thanks for the support. Thanks for the love.’
Further UK, European, Australian and New Zealand dates were also postponed as he underwent surgery.
On announcing the cancellation of his tour, Donald said his path to recovery is ‘something I need to confront seriously’, without detailing the specifics of his health issue, until now.
The tour was set to mark the end of his Childish Gambino moniker as the star – who released his sixth album Bando Stone and The New World last July – had admitted he no longer finds the project ‘fulfilling’.
He told the New York Times newspaper: ‘It really was just like, “Oh, it’s done.” It’s not fulfilling. And I just felt like I didn’t need to build in this way anymore.’
A multi-talented artist, Glover is also a writer, director and actor, known for roles in Community where he appeared as Troy Barnes; Atlanta, as Earn Marks; and The Lion King, in which he voiced Simba.
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