31-01-2025
Patti Smith reveals health update after collapsing on stage during performance
Iconic musician Patti Smith has revealed an update on her health following a startling incident in which she collapsed on stage during a performance in São Paulo, Brazil.
Following the 78-year-old "Because the Night" singer-songwriter falling to the stage amid a Wednesday evening set as part of a project with German group Soundwalk Collective, Smith recounted the moment and assured fans that she was okay.
'I'm fine. You can hear I'm fine,' she told the Associated Press after footage from the event surfaced online, which showed her on stage in a wheelchair. 'The whole thing has been grossly exaggerated.'
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Smith told the outlet that she was "checked out by an excellent doctor and was absolutely fine" following the collapse, and asked her fans to "not accept any other account" of the ordeal. "With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention," she finished.
Earlier, Smith released a statement on Instagram, again urging people to scale back their concern.
"This is letting everyone know that I am fine. A grossly exaggerated account is being spread by the press and social media. I had some post migraine dizziness. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because the night," she wrote in a caption underneath a photo of herself smiling. "I was checked out by an excellent Doctor and was absolutely fine. Please do not accept any other story. With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention. Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine."
Soundwalk Collective also released a joint statement with Smith to their Instagram Story, indicating that they were canceling the evening's performance amid Smith's recovery, due to doctors advising that the recording artist needed "a little more time to be at her best" before returning to the stage.
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for Smith for additional comment.
In December 2023, Smith also endured a health scare that forced her to cancel Italian tour dates after a sudden illness and subsequent Horses album visionary and punk-rock legend previously discussed her health in a 2020 interview with The Guardian, in which she addressed a bronchial condition.
"I was a sickly kid, sometimes they were worried that I wouldn't pull through," Smith said at the time. "I had so much responsibility and a true purpose. To be in limbo almost 10 months, for a person like me who doesn't like sitting in the same place, it's been very challenging. I feel like I'm part-wolf, roaming from room to room."
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
