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Lewis Capaldi has called out fellow celebrities who he says pretended to have supported him during his two-year retreat from the spotlight.
The Scottish singer, 28, stepped away from music in 2023 after an emotional performance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage left him visibly struggling with his Tourette’s symptoms.
As his voice gave out, thousands of fans stepped in to finish his closing number – a moment of mass solidarity that moved many watching.
Days later, Capaldi announced he would be taking an indefinite break to prioritise his mental and physical health.
Now back on stage — and having made a triumphant return to Glastonbury this summer — Capaldi has opened up about the reality of those months out of the limelight.
Speaking on Hits Radio, he admitted that while some stars genuinely reached out, others only claimed they had.
‘After the first Glastonbury, I got a call from Elton John, who said it was a great idea to take a break and stuff like that,’ he said.
‘Niall Horan, obviously. I’m in group chats with Niall, so I speak to him quite a lot.’
But not everyone was as genuine. ‘There were some people who said they checked in on me, who did not check in on me,’ he added, calling the behaviour ‘bizarre.’
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Reflecting further in a candid appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Capaldi explained that the difficult Glastonbury set in 2023 ultimately became a turning point.
‘Because Glastonbury is such a big stage, it was the first time people outside my shows had seen it,’ he said.
‘When I came off stage it was weird, I had this feeling of, “Everything’s alright now, I can actually go and get help and fix myself for the next two years.”‘
He described the experience as a blessing in disguise: ‘In a weird way, it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wouldn’t have stopped otherwise. Someone upstairs was like, “This has to happen now otherwise…” I don’t want to think of where I would be now if I’d continued.’
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