Donald Glover has had a fascinating career. Following his breakout role on Community, he went on to become a renowned multi-hyphenate. A rare occurrence in Hollywood, he's maintained a prolific career as both a musician and an actor. He's perhaps better known among superhero and sci-fi fandoms for portraying Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as well as starring in Solo: A Star Wars Story as a younger Lando Calrissian. In 2024, Glover announced the cancelation of his New World tour, citing health reasons.
Now, the artist—who announced plans to retire his Childish Gambino moniker last year—has revealed the health reasons cited were, in fact, serious health concerns. Performing at Tyler, the Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw festival on Saturday, November 22 (footage below), Glover addressed the tour cancelation and his time away from the public eye.
Addressing his audience, he explained that, during a performance, he began experiencing a headache and couldn't see well. He then went to the hospital, where a doctor informed him he'd had a stroke:
"You guys voted for, 'Where have I been' monologue.' Okay, so, I was doing this world tour. [Having] lots of fun. Really loving seeing you guys out there. And 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.' And the first thing I thought was, 'Oh, here I am, still copying Jamie Foxx.' That's really, like, the second thing. The first thing was, 'I'm letting everybody down.'"
The actor further revealed he had broken his foot, and had discovered a hole in his heart, for which he underwent two surgeries "I know [letting everyone down is] not true, but I've broken my foot. I always promise Ireland I'm gonna be there, and I still haven't been. And they found a hole in my heart, so I had this surgery, and then I had to have another surgery. So, you know, they say everybody has two lives [...] and the second life starts when you realize you have one."
Glover then shared an inspiring message for his audience, expressing his gratitude for being able to perform for them: "You got one life, guys. And I gotta be honest, the life I've lived with you guys has been such a blessing. I love seeing and performing for you guys. As my wife says—which I love—she's like, 'If this life is a flavor, soon as I'm done, give me another scoop.' You should be living your life how you want, because it can only get better. If we have to do this again, it can only get better."
When canceling the tour in 2024, Glover said on social media (via Deadline): "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."