Rod Stewart has addressed the fan uproar around his decision to attend Scotland’s World Cup match, less than 24 hours after he cancelled a show due to ill health.
The singer, 81, had sparked concern when he was forced to pull out of a concert in California, citing a respiratory infection that had spiralled into laryngitis.
But the following day, Rod was pictured cheering on the Tartan Army during their first World Cup match against Haiti in Boston, leading to huge backlash online.
Days after the show, Rod then required the use of an oxygen tank to get through his concert in Salt Lake City, and joked to the audience he ‘nearly f*****g fainted’ while trying to finish the show.
Rod has finally addressed the backlash over his decision to attend the World Cup match, and he insisted he chose to go for his two sons, but confessed ‘it wasn’t a good look.’
He said: ‘No, I got an awful… I really shouldn’t have gone to the Haiti game. You know, I had to cancel a show the night before because I just had no voice left.’
Rod Stewart has addressed the fan uproar around his decision to attend Scotland’s World Cup match, less than 24 hours after he cancelled a show due to ill health
The singer had sparked concern when he was forced to pull out of a concert in California, citing a respiratory infection that had spiralled into laryngitis
Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT, the hitmaker added: ‘But the truth is, Jim, I wasn’t going to let my two sons down.
‘I promised them since they were born that we were going to go to a World Cup. And this is the first one that’s come about. And it wasn’t a good look, I admit, but I’m going to have to just take the stick. So I did it for the boys.’
Rod faced backlash from fans when he cancelled one of his US show, before attending Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti a day later.
That day, with fans already gathering outside the stadium, his team ‘very regretfully’ announced on social media that the concert had been scrapped.
‘He traveled to the venue and made every effort to perform, but on the advice of his doctors and following a diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis, he is unable to take to the stage this evening.’
Stewart issued his own statement on his Instagram page, along with a photo of him standing onstage in the vacant amphitheater.
‘Well here I am in beautiful Chula Vista as the stage is being taken down around me,’ he wrote. ‘Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not.’
Apologising for his absence, he insisted he ‘did everything I could to make the show happen tonight’ and promised he would ‘do my utmost to reschedule.’
Rod has finally addressed the backlash over his decision to attend the World Cup match and he insisted he chose to go for his two sons, but confessed ‘it wasn’t a good look’
Less than one day later, he posted an Instagram video of him and his sons Alastair, 20, and Liam, 31, lounging on a private jet bound for Boston.
Later that day, he was seen cheering among the live audience as Scotland triumphed in its first game of the World Cup, beating Haiti with a score of 1-0.
The I Don’t Want to Talk About It singer was met with a withering online response over what fans regarded as a ‘disingenuous’ about-face.
They said: ‘I understand that shows sometimes have to be canceled, and if there was a legitimate reason, most fans would have accepted it.
‘What’s hard to accept is seeing you apparently celebrating on a plane with friends less than 24 hours after thousands of people were sent home disappointed in San Diego.’
‘I love Rod Stewart I always have I always will. This is the only thing I’ve ever disagreed with that he’s done.
‘People are so hurt all through this thread and it’s understandable. I am so sorry to all of you in San Diego that were heartbroken and then have to see this video. In my opinion he should not have posted this video.’
On Friday in an Instagram post, his team revealed: ‘Rod Stewart very regretfully has had to cancel his show tonight in Chula Vista, California.
‘He travelled to the venue and made every effort to perform, but on the advice of his doctors and following a diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis, he is unable to take to the stage this evening.’
Rod later shared a photo of himself standing on stage in the empty stadium as he apologised to fans for the cancellation.
He penned: ‘Well here I am in beautiful Chula Vista as the stage is being taken down around me. Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not.
Rod continued: ‘I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans.
‘I did everything I could to make the show happen tonight, but unfortunately it just wasn’t possible. I will do my utmost to reschedule.’
Fans were left devastated by the last minute cancellation, taking to Reddit to share their upset.
Concertgoers penned: ‘We arrived to the gate and they told us it was canceled 5 minutes ago. There was even people inside already waiting!’;
‘Oh man, I just got turned away at the gate! Hope everyone is ok’; ‘We spent 4 hours driving down in the traffic and waiting around.’
The octogenarian musical legend is currently on the North American leg of his farewell tour One Last Time, which he launched in 2024.
‘I’ve got 40-odd shows this year and that’s not really a lot,’ he remarked last month during an interview on the British radio program talkSPORT. And I’m touring the UK next year and doing the O2 and that will probably be it, I think.’
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