Stevie Wonder told concertgoers at the British Summer Time Hyde Park music festival on Saturday that he’s hitting a pause button on his tour to undergo a kidney transplant.
“So what’s going to happen is this – I’m going to have surgery, I’m going to have a kidney transplant in September of this year,” he told the audience, who gasped. BBC News North America correspondent Aleem Maqboll captured the moment on video.
“All good. I’m all good. I have a donor and all good,” Wonder continued to the cheers and applause of the crowd. “I want you to know that I came here to give you my love and to thank you for your love. You ain’t gotta hear no rumors about nothing, I told you what’s up… I’m good.”
Watch his announcement below.
The moment, this evening at Hyde Park, Stevie Wonder told us why he would be taking a break from performing…. pic.twitter.com/pwfjnczGKx
– Aleem Maqbool (@AleemMaqbool) July 6, 2019
Speculation about Wonder’s health surfaced Wednesday after a “source close to the singer” told the Detroit Free Press that the Motown superstar was “battling a serious but manageable health issue.”
Wonder’s next concert performance is slated for July 9 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, but nothing is scheduled after that.
Wonder’s reps did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.