Stevie Wonder announces he's going to have kidney transplant later this year
Stevie Wonder wasted little time addressing last week's reports suggesting he was having health issues.
The 69-year-old music legend announced Saturday that he'll undergo a kidney transplant.
Wonder made the announcement from the stage during a concert in London's Hyde Park, saying he'll take a break from touring in September to undergo the surgery.
“So what’s gonna happen is this: I am going to have surgery. I’m going to have a kidney transplant in September of this year,” Wonder told the crowd, as captured in a video tweeted by BBC reporter Aleem Maqbool.
Wonder went on: "It's all good, it's all good, I'm all good. I have a donor, it's all good. I want you to know, I came here to give you my love and to thank you for your love. You ain't got to hear no rumors about nothing. I told you what’s up. I’m good."
It appears as if the legendary singer was responding to reports from earlier this year that he was in failing health.
Last week, the Detroit Free Press story quoted Joan Belgrave, a longtime friend of the singer, as saying of Wonder, "He’s got some health challenges, but he doesn’t want a big PR thing out of this."
"He knows what he has to do to get himself together, and he’s doing it," the friend added.
Wonder's next tour stop is Tuesday night in Dublin, Ireland, after which he returns to the U.S. in time for a July 11 show in Charlotte, North Carolina.
