After many rumors circulating about his health, Multiple-Grammy Award winner Stevie Wonder announced plans for a kidney transplant at a London concert on Saturday night.
“So what’s gonna happen is this, I’m going to have surgery, I’m going to have a kidney transplant in September of this year. I’m all good, I’m all good, I’m all good. I have a donor, it’s all good,” Wonder told the Hyde Park audience.
“I want you to know 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. Alright?”
Wonder’s comments follow a Detroit Free Press report last week that said the singer was “battling a serious but manageable health issue”; prior to that, in late June, a YouTube video claimed that Wonder was suffering from kidney failure. Rumors continued to swirl after Wonder bowed out of his appearance at Detroit’s Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame ceremony.
“He’s got some health challenges, but he doesn’t want a big PR thing out of this,” Wonder’s friend and musician Joan Belgrave told the Detroit Free Press. “He’s in great spirits. You would never know anything is going on. That’s how he wants it, and that’s how he wants to keep it.” Despite the impending surgery, Wonder still plans on completing his tour, which continues July 9th in Dublin. Watch Wonder's announcement below:
