Rod Stewart has drawn backlash after being spotted cheering for Scotland in the stands at a World Cup game, just hours after cancelling a concert in California due to health reasons.
- Read More:Ā Rod Stewart live at Glastonbury 2025: Vegas showmanship adds razzle dazzle to legends slot
Just a day before he made an appearance at the World Cup game between Scotland and Haiti on Saturday (June 13), Stewart’s team shared a statement to his Instagram Stories, detailing that āon 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 the stage this evening.”
Stewart later followed up with his own statement less than an hour before a California gig was scheduled to start, adding: āFollowing treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not. I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans.”
Then, over the weekend, he shared a video of himself flying to Boston in a private jet alongside his sons. “Here we are flying off to Boston to see Scotland in the World Cup,ā Stewart said in the Instagram video. āIt’s been 28 years, so these kids, I’ve told them about it, but they’ve never been. I’ve been to seven World Cups.ā
They ended the video with a high-energy chant of āNo Scotland, no party,ā sparking criticism from some fans in the comment section, given he’d cancelled the aforementioned show in Chula Vista less than an hour before he was set to take the stage.
Later that day, Stewart was seen throwing his arms in the air in the stands as he celebrated Scotland’s victory.
View this post on Instagram
His next scheduled performance is at Colorado’s Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre this evening (Monday June 15).
The veteran rocker turned 81 earlier this year, and has been touring consistently for over 60 years, including during his years with the FacesĀ and theĀ Jeff Beck Group, and he has been performing on his āOne Last Timeā farewell tour since 2024,Ā including his turn at Glastonbury last summer.
He has over 20 dates remaining in the US this year, and in a recent interview on TalkSport, he looked ahead to next year, hinting that he is consideringĀ calling it a dayĀ after one last UK run.
āThen Iām touring the UK next year, doing The O2, and thatāll probably be it, I think,ā he said. āIāllĀ have to do something new, come on your show more often, maybe.ā
In 2024,Ā Stewart said he was done with ālarge-scale world toursā, saying his 2025 run of arena shows would be his last, although he did add at the time that he had āno desire to retireā.
āI love what I do, and I do what I love,ā he said at the time. āIām fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79.āĀ He also confessed that he thought his ādays are numberedāĀ as heĀ nearedĀ his 80th birthday in 2025. āIām aware my days are numbered but Iāve got no fear,ā he said.
āWe have all got to pass on at some point, so we are all in the same basket. I am going to be enjoying myself for these last few years as much as I can. I say few ā probably another 15. I can do that easy mate, easy.ā
Stewart memorably played the legendsā slot on Sunday afternoon on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2025, where he was joined byĀ Ronnie Wood,Ā Mick HucknallĀ andĀ Lulu.Ā NMEĀ was at the show and awarded it four stars, noting:Ā āIt may be the staggering heat or a stronger Sunday hangover this year, but the crowd arenāt quite as raucous as they often are for the legends slot, despite the many resplendent in copycat wigs and spandex. Still, the manās voice is onĀ pointĀ and he knows how to charm while giving you bang for your buck.ā
After their reunion,Ā Wood later said that progress on a long-promised new Faces album had stalled, as it was hard to makeĀ theirĀ ātimes tallyā.
The post Rod Stewart in hot water after attending World Cup game just hours after abruptly cancelling concert appeared first on NME.