Donald Glover Scraps New World Tour After Stroke as Doctors Find Hole in His Heart

Donald Glover finally explained why he scrapped The New World Tour last year, and it is not the usual scheduling conflict. He told the crowd at Tyler, the Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw on Saturday that he suffered a stroke while on the road, and that was just the start.

What happened, in his own words (and a lot of pain)

Performing as Childish Gambino, Glover said he was hit with a brutal headache during a stop in Louisiana. He pushed through the show anyway, even though his vision was off. By the time he got to Houston, he went to the hospital, where doctors told him he had a stroke. He said his first thought was that he was letting people down. His second thought was a dark joke about 'copying' Jamie Foxx, a nod to Foxx's widely reported health scare.

• Intense head pain in Louisiana, kept performing despite not seeing clearly
• Hospital visit in Houston led to a stroke diagnosis
• On top of that: he broke his foot
• Doctors also found a hole in his heart
• He underwent surgery for the heart issue, then needed a second procedure

After laying all of that out, he pivoted to perspective, urging fans to live like the clock is actually ticking.

"They say everybody has two lives and the second life starts when you realize you have one. You got one life, guys. And I gotta be honest, the life I have lived with you guys has been such a blessing... You should be living your life how you want. If we have to do this again, it can only get better."

The tour fallout

When those health issues piled up, Glover first postponed the remaining North American dates of The New World Tour so he could rest and recover. He ultimately canceled the tour outright in October when it became clear he was not ready to jump back into the grind.

Not exactly a fun update, but a necessary one. Touring at that level is punishing even when you are 100 percent. Glad he is prioritizing his health and being honest about why things went sideways. Here is hoping the second life he talked about comes with fewer ER visits and more music.