Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino, revealed during a concert in Los Angeles on Saturday the reason he unexpectedly canceled his 2024 tour: he had a stroke.
“OK, so I was doing this world tour. I was having a lot of fun, I really loved seeing you there, and I had a really bad headache in Louisiana,” Glover began in the video of the evening shared by journalist Michael Blackshire. “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 said, ‘You’ve had a stroke.’
“And the first thing I thought was that I always copy Jamie Foxx,” he joked. “It’s really like the second thing, the first thing, the first thing was like, I’m letting everyone down. I know it’s not true, but I broke my foot. I always promised Ireland that I would be there. And I still didn’t go. And they found a hole in my heart. So I had that operation. And then I had to have another operation.”
Watch the performer’s full comments below:
Glover then reflected on the larger lessons he internalized through this experience. “So they say everyone has two lives until they realize. Now everyone has two lives and the second life starts when you realize you have one. You only have one life, guys. And I have to be honest,” he continued. “The life I’ve lived with you has been such a blessing. I love seeing you and performing for you. As my wife says, which I love, she says to me, ‘If this life is any flavor, as soon as I’m done, give me another spoon.'”
He concluded: “You should live your life the way you want. Because it can only get better. If we have to start over, it can only get better.”
Glover initially told fans the shows would be rescheduled, but then had to backtrack on those plans.
“After my concert in New Orleans, I went to the hospital in Houston to check on an illness that had become apparent. After being evaluated, it became clear that I would not be performing that night, and after further testing, I could not make the remainder of the US tour in the requested time. As of now, I have surgery scheduled and need time to heal,” Glover wrote on X in October 2024.
He continued: “My road to recovery is something I must face seriously. That said, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of the North American tour as well as the UK and European dates. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.”
