Patti Smith ends show early after collapsing on stage in Sao Paulo
The singer required assistance before leaving the stage in a wheelchair.
Singer Patti Smith collapsed during a presentation in Brazil on Wednesday night, and later returned to apologise for needing to end her show early.
Video published on social media showed her lying on the ground.
“I’m fine. You can hear I’m fine,” she told The Associated Press when reached by phone. “The whole thing has been grossly exaggerated.”
She added that a statement she published on her Instagram on Thursday morning, in which she said she had experienced post-migraine dizziness, “speaks for itself”.
“I was checked out by an excellent doctor and was absolutely fine. Please do not accept any other account. With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention,” Smith posted.
Cultura Artistica Theatre, a small concert hall in downtown Sao Paulo, said on Thursday morning the artist had been experiencing a severe migraine in recent days and felt dizzy on stage during her performance.
“She’s being attended to by the best doctors and our team,” the theatre said in a statement on Instagram.
Cultura Artistica did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smith has been in Sao Paulo for a two-day presentation of the “Correspondences” project with the Berlin-based group Soundwalk Collective. During the performance, she recited some of her writings alongside musicians.
Soundwalk Collective said that Smith had suffered from an intense migraine for the past couple of days but “still wanted to be there for all of us and you and perform”.
The group posted a statement, signed by them and Smith, to their Instagram stories.
According to the newspaper Folha de S Paulo, Smith collapsed about 30 minutes into the event while reading a text about climate change.
She fell on stage and remained there for a few minutes before receiving assistance. She was then placed in a wheelchair and taken backstage.
She later returned in a wheelchair and apologised, video on local media showed.
“Unfortunately, I got sick, and the doctor said I can’t finish. So we will have to figure something out. And I feel very badly,” Smith said.
The audience responded in English: “Don’t be. We love you.”
The statement from Smith and Soundwalk Collective said they would be on stage for Thursday’s night performance. However, the venue has not yet confirmed whether it would be cancelled.
