Iconic singer Patti Smith speaks out after shock collapse onstage in Brazil

Legendary rocker Patti Smith has released a statement after a “small incident” onstage forced her to close out her concert in a wheelchair.

Legendary rocker Patti Smith has spoken out after she experienced a “small incident” onstage while performing in Brazil on Wednesday.

The 78-year-old scared fans when she appeared to collapse in Sao Paulo during her set with the Soundwalk Collective group.

She was helped offstage and later briefly returned in a wheelchair.

Patti Smith finished her Brazil concert in wheelchair after collapsing on stage.

However, the Because the Night singer chalked the ordeal up to the effects of a migraine, taking to her social media on Thursday to blast the scare as “grossly exaggerated”.

Smith posted a smiling selfie while waving to the camera and wrote, “This is [me] letting everyone know that I am fine.”

She added, “I had some post migraine dizziness. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because the Night.”

The Grammy-nominated rock star said she went to the doctor and “was absolutely fine,” adding, “Please do not accept any other story.”

While in a wheelchair, the singer apologised to fans for having to cut her concert short. Picture: Per Ole Hagen/Redferns

Smith assured her followers that “with all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention.”

Concluding her message, she reiterated that she was doing “fine.”

“Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine,” Smith wrote.

Smith collapsed on the stage about 30 minutes into her set, and remained there for several minutes before getting assistance, according to the Associated Press, per local media.

The rocker later took to Instagram to assure fans she was doing well.

“She clearly felt dizzy. She started moving backward and fell in a way — I think she tried to support herself on the microphone or the music stand. And everything fell on top of her. It was a bizarre scene,” Micheline Alves, a journalist sitting in one of the front rows, shared with the outlet in a phone interview.

Alves added that a doctor, who was in the audience, checked on Smith.

“After a few minutes, we saw that she wasn’t unconscious. She got up on her own,” the journalist explained, adding she was put in a wheelchair and disappeared backstage.

She later returned to the stage in a wheelchair and apologised to the audience.

“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, to which the audience cheered her on.

Smith then sang Wing and Because the Night a cappella.

While Alves said it was “very beautiful,” the journalist added about Smith that “she was very sad, very vulnerable about not being able to do the show.”

Videos quickly emerged online of Smith’s incident, including her being wheeled offstage and returning in the wheelchair.

Smith at the Venice International Film Festival in August 2024. Picture: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Smith is collaborating with the Berlin-based Soundwalk Collective for the Correspondences project, “a creative enterprise with Simone Merli to collect sound from around the world and develop sonic projects in artistic collaborations,” according to W magazine.

The project is set to run until February 22.

Soundwalk Collective announced on social media that Thursday’s show at Teatro Cultura Artística has been cancelled.

“Patti is now recovering strongly but our caring doctors say she needs a little more time to be at her best,” the Instagram Story post read.

In December 2023, Smith was forced to cancel shows in Italy after being hospitalised due to an unknown illness. She was later discharged after “a short period of observation in emergency.”

This article originally appeared in New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Iconic singer Patti Smith speaks out after shock collapse onstage in Brazil