Donald Glover Suffered Stroke Last Year, Doctors Found Hole in His Heart

Donald Glover is opening up about the severe health scares that forced him to cancel the remainder of his 2024 The New World Tour.

While performing at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw on Saturday, Glover, who performs under his Childish Gambino moniker, discovered he had experienced a stroke.

“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.’ That’s really like the second thing. The first thing was like, ‘I’m letting everybody down,’” the musician told the audience Saturday when he returned to the stage for the first time in more than one year.

He went on to explain other issues he had endured, including a broken foot and a hole in his heart being discovered. “I broke my foot… They found a hole in my heart… so I had this surgery, and then I had to have another surgery,” Glover added.

After sharing his secret health battles, the 42-year-old encouraged the audience to live their lives to the fullest.

“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’ve 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.”

Last September, Glover had originally postponed the remaining North American dates of his The New World Tour to focus on his physical health. However, due to the ongoing health issues, the tour was cancelled altogether the following month.

Glover’s Childish Gambino alter ego began over a decade ago. Over the course of six albums, he has won five Grammys. Last July, he revealed that he would be retiring his Child Gambino moniker.

“It really was just like, ‘Oh, it’s done,’” the "Feels Like Summer" singer told The New York Times. “It’s not fulfilling. And I just felt like I didn’t need to build in this way anymore.

“I’m not 25 anymore, standing in front of a boulder like, ‘This has to move.’ You give what you can, but there’s beauty everywhere in every moment. You don’t have to build it. You don’t have to search for it.”

He pointed out that his decision to retire the moniker was in part influenced by becoming a parent.

“When I put my son on my shoulders, I feel deep joy. That’s real. No one on their deathbed is going to look back and say, ‘Thank God I avoided being cringe.’”