This past weekend, Donald Glover revealed that he postponed his global tour when he discovered he had suffered a stroke. Glover shared this during his set at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw, a music festival held at Dodger’s Stadium in Los Angeles on November 22nd and 23rd.
Glover Had a Very Bad Headache
The five-time Grammy Award winner told the audience, “I had a really bad pain in my head in Louisiana, but I did the show anyway.” He waited until the next 2024 tour stop to get checked out,” he said.
“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,’” he joked, referring to Foxx’s stroke in 2023. “That’s really like the second thing. The first thing was like, ‘I’m letting everybody down.’ I know it’s not true.
Between Atlanta, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Bando Stone & The New World, was there much rest? It looks as if he was creating with every fiber of his being. Black men need to take going to the doctor seriously.
Symptoms of a Stroke
According to the American Stroke Association, Glover didn’t have the most common symptoms of a stroke, which are:
- Face Drooping
- Arm Weakness
- Speech Difficultly
- (all equal) Time to Call 911
But the Community star did complain of some of these symptoms.
- Numbness (face, arms, legs, or one side of the body)
- Confusion
- Trouble Seeing
- Trouble Walking
- Severe Headache
If you experience any of these symptoms, call 911.
The Actor and Musician Also Discovered He Had a Hole in His Heart
The artist, who retired the Childish Gambino alter ego last year, said doctors also discovered he had a hole in his heart at the same time he got his stroke diagnosis.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a patent foramen ovale, the clinical term for a hole in the heart, occurs in about 1 in 4 people. And like Glover, most people don’t realize they have it until it is discovered during a test for another health issue.
Glover had two surgeries to treat the issues.
A Second Chance
Last year, Glover decided that he would be retiring his alter ego, Childish Gambino. “It really was just like, ‘Oh, it’s done.’ It’s not fulfilling,” Glover admitted. “And I just felt like I didn’t need to build in this way anymore.” But this past year has given the artist a chance to reflect.
When he took the stage at Dodger Stadium, he performed as Childish Gambino once again. “Everybody has two lives, and the second life starts when you realize you have one,” he told his fans in Los Angeles. “You should be living your life how you want. It can only get better.”
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
Find out how hypertension can put you at risk for a stroke.
Resources
American Stroke Association Stroke Symptoms and Warning Signs
Mayo Clinic Patent foramen ovale
