Donald Glover cancels upcoming tour dates, will undergo surgery for unspecified illness

Donald Glover arriving at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. Photo / Getty Images

The Atlanta creator cancelled upcoming shows for his Childish Gambino tour, saying he needs time to recover from surgery.

Donald Glover, the multi-talented creative known for his eccentric artistry and hit projects such as Atlanta and This is America, has cancelled the remainder of his North America and Europe show dates due to an unspecified illness, prematurely ending this year’s tour for what he described as the final album under the “Childish Gambino” moniker.

“After my show in New Orleans, I went to the hospital in Houston to make sure of an ailment that had become apparent,” Glover said Friday in a post on X. “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.”

Glover had been on the New World Tour since August, complementing his album Bando Stone & the New World and an upcoming film he’s directing with the same name.

But the 41-year-old musician was forced to change his touring schedule last month due to illness, initially postponing concerts “to focus on my physical health for a few weeks,” he said at the time.

Of the “difficult decision” to later scrap the concerts entirely, he added, “My path to recovery is something I need to confront seriously.”

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 assesed, 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…

— donald (@donaldglover) October 4, 2024

Glover started out as a writer for Tina Fey’s 30 Rock before rising to fame as Troy Barnes in the NBC comedy series Community. More recently, he starred in the first season of the Prime Video series Mr. and Mrs. Smith opposite Maya Erskine, voiced Simba in the 2019 remake of The Lion King and appeared in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story as Lando Calrissian, a role he will reprise in an upcoming movie, according to Variety. (Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon, which owns Prime Video.)

Throughout his coinciding music career, Glover released popular songs such as Redbone - which won a Grammy for best traditional R&B performance - and Me and Your Mama (Let Me Into Your Heart) under the stage name Childish Gambino. But he told the New York Times earlier this year that he was done using the name after the release of his latest album.

He’s garnered accolades for his contributions to television and music, winning two Emmys and two Golden Globes as the director, star and creator of the surrealist comedy-drama Atlanta, and four Grammy awards for This is America, which was widely acclaimed for its visually powerful music video referencing racism, minstrelsy and violence that black people face in the United States.

Many fans on social media sent well wishes for a speedy recovery following the news.

“I want nothing more than to bring this show to the fans and perform,” Glover ended his Friday message. “Until then, thanks for love, privacy, and support.”