Donald Glover Reveals Stroke Caused Him to Cancel Childish Gambino Tour Last Year

Donald Glover is opening up about a recent health scare that forced him to cancel his tour last year. At the time he described it as an “ailment,” but Glover said Saturday night (Nov. 22) at a performance that a doctor told him he’d had a stroke.

Glover, who performs under the moniker Childish Gambino, shared the information on stage at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles. His remarks were shared widely on social media.

“You guys voted for a ‘where have I been monologue,’” Glover, 42, said. “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.’”

Glover said he felt like he was letting everyone down, lamenting that he still hasn’t been to Ireland. He also revealed that “they found a hole” in his heart and he had to have two surgeries.

“They say everybody has two lives and the second life starts when you realize you have one,” Glover said. “You got one life, guys, and I gotta be honest, the life I’ve lived with you guys has been such a blessing.”

His representatives did not immediately respond to request for comment.

In October 2024, Glover released a statement when calling off tour dates in North America and Europe, but had not revealed the “ailment” he was facing. He wrote at the time, “After my show in New Orleans, I went to the hospital in Houston to make sure of an ailment that had become apparent. After being assessed, it became clear i would not perform that night, and after more tests, i could not perform the rest of the US tour in the time asked. As of now I have surgery scheduled and need time out to heal. My path to recovery is something I need to confront seriously.”