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Singer Lewis Capaldi has announced he will be taking a break from touring “for the foreseeable future”, saying he is “still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s.”

It comes after the star struggled during his set at Glastonbury Festival over the weekend, with fans in the crowd singing for him as he stopped on stage during his hit song Someone You Loved.

Sharing an update on social media, Capaldi said it had been “the most difficult decision of my life”, but his performance on the Pyramid Stage had made it “obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order” to be able to keep doing “everything I love for a long time to come”.

The 26-year-old singer had previously cancelled three weeks of shows to rest and recover ahead of the festival.

On stage, he repeatedly apologised for losing his voice, and told fans they probably would not “see much of me for the rest of the year”.

In a statement posted on Tuesday, he thanked “Glastonbury for having me, for singing along when I needed it and for all the amazing messages afterwards”, adding: “It really does mean the world.”

“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise probably doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future,” Capaldi said.

“I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.”

‘Incredibly sorry’

The star went on to acknowledge being “incredibly fortunate” to be able to take time out “when others can’t”, and said he wanted to thank his “amazing” family, friends, team, medical professionals “and all of you who’ve been so supportive every step of the way through the good times and even more so during this past year when I’ve needed it more than ever”.

Capaldi had gigs and festival appearances in Australia, Asia and Europe planned throughout the year, including a performance in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

He apologised to those with tickets to all his shows, saying he was “incredibly sorry” but needs “to feel well to perform at the standard you all deserve”.

Lewis Capaldi’s planned shows for 2023

The singer had sold-out gigs and festival appearances planned from now until October, including a performance at Zurich’s Hallenstadion on Wednesday.
His statement has been shared by the venue, which says tickets will be refunded.
He was also due to play at Chepstow Racecourse in Wales on Saturday before travelling to Australia.

Australia and New Zealand

Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney – 7 and 8 July;
RAC Arena, Perth – 11 July;
Adelaide Entertainment Centre – 13 July;
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne – 14 and 15 July;
Spark Arena, Auckland – 18 July;
TSB Arena, Wellington – 19 July

Southeast and East Asia

Star City, Singapore – 25 July;
New Frontier Theatre, Manila, Philippines – 27 July
KSB;
KBS Arena, Seoul, South Korea – 29 July

Europe

Laugardalsholl, Reykjavik, Iceland – 11 August;
Wythenshawe Park, Manchester, UK – 25 August;
Reading and Leeds Festival, UK – 26 and 27 August;
Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, UK – 30 August and 1 September;
Vital, Belfast, UK – 3 September;
Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain – 8 September;
Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany – 12 September;
Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany – 13 September;
Terra Vibe Park, Athens – 16 September

Middle East

Al Dana Amphitheatre, Zallaq, Bahrain – 6 October;
Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai, UAE – 7 October

Capaldi finished by saying: “Playing for you every night is all I’ve ever dreamed of so this has been the most difficult decision of my life. I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can. All my love, always, Lewis.”

The singer recently admitted on an Apple Music show that his mental health issues were a “direct symptom” of his work, and shared his struggle with Tourette’s in the Netflix documentary, Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now.

He said “a few panic attacks” and his Tourette’s diagnosis were worth the trade-off for a pop star’s life, but admitted he could give up music if his mental health worsened.

Read more:
Understanding Tourette’s
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Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now. Pic: Netflix
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Capaldi recently shared his story in the How I’m Feeling Now documentary. Pic: Netflix

On stage at Glastonbury on Saturday, the Scottish star admitted he was having voice issues in the run-up to performing his chart-topping ballad Someone You Loved.

“I’m going to be honest everybody, but I’m starting to lose my voice up here, but we’re going to keep going and we’re going to go until the end,” he told the crowd. “I just need you all to sing with me as loud as you can if that’s okay?”

As he struggled to hit the notes, the huge audience roused to help him by singing back as he watched on, clearly emotional.

Artists who have cancelled events due to health issues

Capaldi joins a growing list of stars prioritising their mental and physical health over shows and performances. Earlier this year, Justin Bieber cancelled the remainder of his world tour following ongoing health issues, and also called off shows in 2017 to focus on his mental health.

Last year, Shawn Mendes axed shows in the UK, North America and Europe, telling fans he had been advised by health professionals, and Demi Lovato is another star who has put off shows and spoken about her mental health struggles.

Selena Gomez cancelled shows in 2016 due to anxiety and depression, while at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, star US gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the team event due to concerns for her mental health.

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‘Love you bro’: Zayn Malik’s tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate’s death

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'Love you bro': Zayn Malik's tribute to Liam Payne at first show since former bandmate's death

Zayn Malik paid tribute to former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne as he kicked off his solo tour.

Payne died last month of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage” after falling from a third-floor balcony in Buenos Aires, according to a post-mortem.

Images from Leeds’s O2 Academy on Saturday showed Malik – who delayed his Stairway To The Sky tour due to Payne’s funeral on Wednesday – shared a tribute.

A message was displayed with a heart on a large blue screen behind the singer reading: “Liam Payne 1993-2024. Love you bro.”

The 31-year-old also previously postponed the US leg of the tour after the “heartbreaking loss”.

He later rescheduled the Edinburgh shows, which had been planned for 20 and 21 November, to December due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Following Payne’s death, Malik said he “never got to thank” him for his support during some of the “most difficult” times.

“I will cherish all the memories I have with you in my heart forever,” he said in a post on Instagram.

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Malik rose to fame in 2010 when Simon Cowell teamed him up with Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan on talent show The X Factor.

Malik left the band in 2015 and all members went on to pursue their own solo careers.

An investigation has been launched into Payne’s death by prosecutors and three people have been charged in connection with the incident.

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Kanye West accused of sexual assault on set of music video in new lawsuit

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Kanye West accused of sexual assault on set of music video in new lawsuit

Rapper Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – has been accused of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit that alleges he strangled a model on the set of a music video.

Warning: This story contains details that readers may find distressing

The lawsuit alleges the musician shoved his fingers in the claimant’s mouth at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City in 2010, in what it refers to as “pornographic gagging”, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News reported.

The model who brought the case – which was filed on Friday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York – was a background actor for another musician’s music video that Ye was guest-starring in, NBC said, citing the lawsuit.

She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the 47-year-old.

A representative for Ye was approached for comment by NBC News on Saturday.

The New York City Police Department said it took “sexual assault and rape cases extremely seriously, and urges anyone who has been a victim to file a police report so we can perform a comprehensive investigation, and offer support and services to survivors”.

The lawsuit alleges that a few hours into the shoot, the rapper arrived on set, took over control and ordered “female background actors/models, including the claimant, to line up in the hallway”.

The rapper is then believed to have “evaluated their appearances, pointed to two of the women, and then commanded them to follow him”.

The lawsuit adds the claimant, who was said to be wearing “revealing lingerie”, was uncomfortable but went with Ye to a suite which had a sofa and a camera.

When in the room, Ye is said to have ordered the production team to start playing the music, to which he did not know his lyrics and instead rambled, “rawr, rawr, rawr”.

The lawsuit claims: “Defendant West then pulled two chairs near the camera, positioned them across from each other, and instructed the claimant to sit in the chair in front of the camera.”

While stood over the model, the lawsuit clams Ye strangled her with both hands, according to NBC.

It claims he went on to “emulate forced oral sex” with his hands, with the rapper allegedly screaming: “This is art. This is f****** art. I am like Picasso.”

Read more from Sky News:
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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF

Universal Music Group is also named in the lawsuit as a defendant and is accused of failing to investigate the incident.

The corporation did not immediately respond to a request for comment by NBC.

Jesse S Weinstein, a lawyer representing the claimant, said the woman “displayed great courage to speak out against some of the most powerful men and entities within the entertainment industry”.

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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF – and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first ‘test-tube baby’

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Joy star James Norton on the 'postcode lottery' of IVF - and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first 'test-tube baby'

Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first “test-tube baby”, has criticised how “prohibitively expensive” IVF can be in the UK.

In Joy, the star portrays the real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who – along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy – spent a decade tirelessly working on medical ways to help infertility.

The film charts the 10 years leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.

James Norton stars in Joy. Pic: Kerry Brown/ Netflix
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In the UK, statistics show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade

Norton, who is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News he has friends who were IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to the fertility treatment.

“But I didn’t know about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.

“We know for a fact that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked the fact that IVF is now so means based,” he said. “It’s prohibitively expensive for some… and there is a postcode lottery which means that some people are precluded from that opportunity.”

Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. Pic: Netflix/ Kerry Brown
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Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All pics: Netflix/ Kerry Brown

Now, IVF is considered a wonder of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to devise.

But Joy shows how public backlash in the years leading up to Louise’s birth saw the team vilified – accused of playing God and creating “Frankenstein babies”.

Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.

The couple went through seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.

James Norton and Thomasin McKenzie star in Joy. Pic: Kerry Brown/ Netflix
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Norton portrays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy

While the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures haven’t changed all that much for many going through IVF today – with the costs now both emotional and financial.

“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in the UK.

“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working class IVF babies are very, very rare now.”

In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaigning point – promising his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment for all women should he be elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a remark described as “quite bizarre” by Kamala Harris.

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Bill Nighy ‘proud’ of new film on IVF breakthrough

“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits alongside his questions around pro-choice.”

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In the UK, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade.

“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science actually means that people don’t have the choice.”

Joy is in UK cinemas from 15 November, and on Netflix from 22 November

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