Anxiety seems to be at an all-time high for fans as 2025 has claimed the lives of some of their beloved celebrities. Producer Irv Gotti passed away because of complications related to a stroke in February, followed by singer Roberta Flack, who passed away 14 days after her 88th birthday that same month.
As if that wasn’t enough the music industry is still mourning the recent losses of singer Angie Stone on March 1, and Tony! Toni! Tone! co-founder D’Wayne Wiggins, who died on March 7 after battling bladder cancer for a year.
So when reports circulated that legendary singer Gladys Knight was taken to the hospital in Florida, fans were understandably concerned.
According to TMZ, the “Midnight Train to Georgia” vocalist abruptly canceled her scheduled March 8 performance in Jacksonville, after she and another staff member began to feel ill backstage.
News4Jax Florida Theatre President Numa Saisselin shared a statement to concertgoers explaining what occurred with Knight.
After sharing that she fell ill, he also added, “Ms. Knight was attended to by Jacksonville Fire Rescue, and she was smiling and in good spirits when they left the building.”
The following day, Knight gave fans an update herself on Instagram. In her caption on March 9, she wrote, “Hi my loves! I have that flu that is going around and am already feeling better. I’ll see everyone real soon and appreciate the good wishes.”
The caption was paired with an old photo of her taken at the 2024 Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony. In the picture, the “Neither One Of Us” singer smiled brightly as she sported an orange pantsuit with a white top that had orange and green flowers on it.
Fans reacted to her update with written messages of hope and relief.
“Don’t scare us like that. We are praying for you,” wrote one fan while another said, “Ma’am I almost slid down the wall!”
A third person wrote, “Feel better soon – glad you’re taking it easy.”
The seven-time Grammy award-winning artist is currently on tour and was scheduled to perform in Orlando on Tuesday, March 11 before heading to South Carolina and Georgia in April.
However, the Dr. Phillips Center, which she was meant to perform at, in Orlando, released a statement on their story postponing the show due to her illness.
