Childish Gambino has opened up about a series of health problems that have hampered his music career over the last year, including a stroke that he suffered while on tour.
During his performance at Tyler, The Creator‘s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles over the weekend, Donald Glover spoke publicly for the first time about his aforementioned stroke, as well as being diagnosed with a heart issue and suffering a broken foot.
“Okay, so… I was doing this world tour and having lots of fun. Really loved seeing you guys out there,” he said. “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 like, ‘Oh… here I am still copying Jamie Foxx,’” Glover joked, referencing the actor and comedian’s highly publicized health scare in 2023.
“That’s really like the second thing — the first thing was, ‘I’m letting everybody down.’ I know it’s not true, but I’ve broken my foot. I’ve always promised Ireland I’m gonna be there and I still haven’t been.”
Gambino then revealed that doctors “found a hole in my heart,” requiring him to undergo two surgeries, before reflecting on his life-threatening setbacks.
“They say everybody has two lives and the second life starts when you realize you have one,” he told the crowd. “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.”
Childish Gambino reveals that he had a stroke and a hole was found in his heart and is why he had to stop his tour pic.twitter.com/YxeQYBWDBA
— Dat (@DatDaDatty) November 23, 2025
In September 2024, Childish Gambino was forced to cancel the remainder of his New World Tour after just a few weeks, saying on X (formerly Twitter) that he had to “focus on my physical health for a few weeks.”
The “Redbone” hitmaker had previously canceled a tour stop in Connecticut “due to production issues” and called off a concert in Houston “due to illness.”
The tour, which came in support of his album Bando Stone and the New World, was supposed to travel across North America, Europe and Australasia between August 11, 2024 and February 11, 2025.
Gambino’s Cam Flog Gnaw set was his first performance since his tour was scrapped.
