{"id":331689,"date":"2026-08-28T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/331689\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T08:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:00:33","slug":"gladys-knight-82-cuts-back-on-performing-after-health-concerns-raised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/331689\/","title":{"rendered":"Gladys Knight, 82, cuts back on performing after health concerns raised"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gladys Knight, 82, is cutting back on performing as she ushers in a \u201cnew era\u201d after recent shows in which she appeared confused onstage raised questions about her health.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter much soul searching I\u2019ve decided that I will be easing into fewer performances while focusing on transitioning into the next stage of my career and life moving forward,\u201d Knight, 82, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DckLXpGRhnx\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">said in a statement Thursday night<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll be spending more time on projects with my husband and visiting with my grandbabies and am looking forward to this new era.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gladys Knight performs during the \u201cThe Queens! 4 Legends. 1 Stage.\u201d tour at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 7, 2026. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cThat\u2019s What Friends Are For\u201d legend also thanked fans who have supported her throughout her 75-year career, which began when she was just 7 years old performing with the Pips.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like to take a moment, in advance, to thank all my fans over this last three quarters of a century for making a little girl\u2019s dream come true and supporting her every step of the way,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am immensely grateful to all of you and send my eternal love back to you. I hope to see your smiling faces out and about and on the road. God bless all of you and hope to see you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement comes after several of Knight\u2019s recent performances left the singer\u2019s tour staff wondering whether she should still be on the road, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/08\/27\/gladys-knight-touring-concerns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">according to TMZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>During her Aug. 18 show at Detroit\u2019s Fisher Theatre, Knight took multiple breaks and appeared exhausted, prompting some audience members to leave before the performance ended.<\/p>\n<p>Knight appeared confused performing \u201cMidnight Train to Georgia\u201d at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, on July 25, 2026. Facebook\/Dean McVay<\/p>\n<p>At her July 25 concert at the Hollywood Bowl, Knight appeared to lose her place during \u201cMidnight Train to Georgia,\u201d turning her back to the crowd and beginning to walk offstage.<\/p>\n<p>When a backup singer reached for her arm, Knight shook off the attempt.<\/p>\n<p>Knight\u2019s April 25 show with Smokey Robinson at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas was described as even more troubling as tour staff became concerned she was showing symptoms of dementia, sources told the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>Knight performs onstage during The Queens Tour at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Sep. 28, 2025. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Her husband and manager, William McDowell, pushed back on the dementia claims, telling TMZ that Knight has not been diagnosed with the condition and will see a doctor for an evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>McDowell, who is reportedly 33 years his wife\u2019s junior, also said Knight wants to keep performing but has \u201cgood days and bad.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one is ever gonna make me say, \u2018My wife is well,\u2019 but all she wants to do is sing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Knight currently has dates booked through November, with her next scheduled performance set for Sept. 4 at the Riverfront Jazz Festival in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>Gladys Knight and husband William McDowell attend the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in New York City on Jan. 27, 2018. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>The concerns come after Knight\u2019s son, Shanga Hankerson, accused McDowell last year of emotionally and financially abusing his mom and forcing her to perform.<\/p>\n<p>Knight <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2025\/08\/18\/celebrity-news\/gladys-knight-81-speaks-out-after-son-accuses-her-much-younger-husband-of-elder-abuse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">addressed the allegations at the time<\/a>, telling The Post that her \u201chealth and performances have been misrepresented\u201d and that she was \u201chealthy and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Knight has earned seven Grammy Awards throughout her career, while also earning a Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame induction with the Pips and a Kennedy Center Honor.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gladys Knight, 82, is cutting back on performing as she ushers in a \u201cnew era\u201d after recent shows&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[24768,5362,157,21239,2538,9,24,63,122,124,123,124796],"class_list":["post-331689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-celebrity-illnesses","tag-concerts","tag-entertainment","tag-gladys-knight","tag-music","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-smokey-robinson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}