Donald Glover — who performs under the name Childish Gambino — disclosed on 22 November 2025 during his set at the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival in Los Angeles that he experienced a stroke last year, a revelation that sheds new light on the abrupt cancellation of his 2024 world tour.
Glover, aged 42, told the audience that the incident began while on the road supporting what he had described as his final album under the Childish Gambino moniker. He said he felt “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.’”
The tour — known as the The New World Tour — had launched in August 2024 but was cancelled in early October after only 18 shows. Glover had initially cited a vague “ailment” before revealing the full scope of his medical condition.
In his comments at the festival, Glover said that immediately upon diagnosis he “felt like I was letting everybody down,” referencing the expectations of fans and the tour’s momentum. He also made a light remark that his first thought was “Oh, here I am still copying Jamie Foxx,” alluding to the actor’s stroke in 2023.
Further complications emerged in Glover’s account. He revealed that following the stroke he broke his foot and during that process doctors discovered a hole in his heart, necessitating two surgeries. “They found a hole in my heart… so I had this surgery, and then I had to have another surgery,” he told the crowd.
Onstage he offered a broader reflection: “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.”
Glover’s disclosure gives public context to the tour cancellation and the hiatus from the Childish Gambino persona. The New World Tour had been billed as a final outing under that name, supporting the 2024 album Bando Stone & the New World. Prior to his announcement, Glover had posted on 4 October 2024 that “after my show in New Orleans, I went to the hospital in Houston to make sure of an ailment that had become apparent,” and had confirmed the remainder of his US, UK, European and Australian dates would be cancelled.
In revealing the stroke publicly for the first time, Glover also offered commentary on his mindset: he said he felt compelled to stop because “my path to recovery is something I need to confront seriously.” He admitted that although the details were unclear at the time, the severity of the issue became apparent only following medical evaluation.
Medical comments circulating in news coverage underline that Glover’s symptoms were not the most common indicators of stroke. The Australian Stroke Foundation noted that severe headache and changes to vision — symptoms Glover described — are earlier-warning signs though less frequently cited in public stroke campaigns.
Glover’s revelation has prompted the adaptation of his performance narrative. Fans watching his set at Camp Flog Gnaw described it as emotionally charged; one social-media commenter wrote that they felt he “performed like this was his last” festival appearance, noting the renewed connection with the audience.
The tour cancellation in 2024 cut short what was intended to be a global run. Shows in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver were among those listed as cancelled after the New Orleans performance.
Glover’s career spans acting, writing and music. He first gained prominence as a writer and star on the comedy series Community and later for creating and starring in the Golden Globe-winning series Atlanta. As a musician under Childish Gambino, he earned multiple Grammy Awards, including for the 2018 hit “This Is America.” His decision to retire the Gambino pseudonym has been publicly discussed since 2017, and the 2024 album was broadly presented as his farewell under that name.
In his remarks, Glover addressed the sense of accountability he felt: he said “The first thing I thought was like, ‘I’m letting everybody down.’ I know it’s not true.” He emphasised that his priority was recovery, and expressed gratitude to his supporters for standing by him through the unknown period.
Glover’s disability status or long-term prognosis were not elaborated upon in public statements. He did not provide a timeline for a return to touring or recording under any name. His representatives did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
His message at the festival was both personal and public: he framed the experience as a wake-up call, urging people to live proactively. “You should be living your life how you want,” he said, reinforcing the idea that his health crisis caused a re-evaluation of purpose and performance.
As of now, there is no official schedule for resuming tour dates or releasing further work under the Gambino name. Fans and industry observers are left to await announcements, while Glover’s disclosure stands as a candid window into a high-profile health episode and its impact on an artist whose career had already been in transition.