Concerts over the years have become the most hit-or-miss aspect of the 21st century. With new emerging artists, concerts are massive money-makers for them and show stopping entertainment for us. But like all good things, some come to an unexpected halt or maybe stop completely, as the music artists of today are canceling concerts and tours more often than ever. But they should be able to, right? They crash and burn out just as much as the next person…so why the criticism?
Justin Beiber announced on Instagram in 2022 that he was canceling his Justice tour after it got postponed during the pandemic, due to his new health condition, Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
CBS News said, “After being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt, Bieber posted a video of himself on Instagram, explaining the condition. One side of his face appeared frozen and only one eye was blinking.”
Beiber said, “Obviously my body is telling me I gotta slow down.”
Upcoming hot new artist Chappell Roan released a similar statement on social media explaining the sudden cancellation of her anticipated concert.
Forbes quotes Roan, “Things have gotten really overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it,” adding she wants to be “present when [she performs] and give the best shows possible.” She said she needed a “few days to prioritize [her] health.”
Fans were quick to jump to social media to share their negative thoughts and feelings about the cancellations.
One angry fan says, “Are you joking? You’re not going to address what you’ve done? People travel and pay hundreds to see you and you cancel with two days notice. People were literally on their way from across other countries to come see you. You don’t deserve the fame.”
This anger and resentment is valid, correct? I mean, these artists know what they are getting into in terms of public scrutiny and hate, and yet they still choose to pursue it.
According to XXL, rapper and record producer Chief Keef posted on Instagram, “To my fans, I’m so sorry to announce this, but due to a medical emergency, I’ve been ordered to stay home to recover, so I have to postpone the tour,” the statement read. “Those who bought tickets can opt for a refund or keep it for a future date. I intend to be back on the road soon. Thank you, I love y’all.”
He still faces scrutiny.
All of these thoughts are true, but just like celebrities, regular people go on medical and paternity leave and are absent from work as well. What makes it any different with celebrities?
Celebrities work hard, they make and produce music for us to listen to in our everyday lives. They have jobs and responsibilities just like we do, just with more pressure. They crash and burn out as well and it isn’t fair for us, as needy consumers, to throw hate and be insensitive when they are simply going through the motions like we do.
How would you feel if you got hate for simply being human?
Anonymous • Jan 29, 2025 at 4:56 pm
I do not completely with this article’s perspective. I think that if there is a medical emergency or serious situation then the artist should definitely get to call off the show, because safety should be the top priority. But I also think that they made a promise to their fans, and so I think it is a little unfair to go back on that. People spend many thousands of dollars for tickets and plane flights to see someone in concert, and in my opinion, canceling shows little regard for other people’s time and money. I think it’s important to take some responsibility when you make a commitment.
Anonymous • Jan 29, 2025 at 3:02 pm
I agree with the main idea of this article. It is very likely for celebrities to be mistreated which is not fair. They should always be treated as a “normal” human such as anyone else. Celebrities are held to an expectation to be perfect and never to fall short. This expectation can put a lot of pressure on them and can be damaging to their mental health just because they got famous for having talents and or skill.
Jenny • Jan 29, 2025 at 1:06 pm
I agree with the claim made in this article, since of course celebrities have human rights, if they are not feeling well, of course they have the right to cancel their show. However, there’s a part in this article that I don’t quite agree: If celebrities have the right to cancel their show even when its only two days left, their fans have the right to choose whether to forgive them or not. Reduce to the absurd is sophistry—is being disappointed/ angry depriving their human right from the celebrities? Obviously not. You have the right to have bad emotions, right? To put in a nutshell, despite I didn’t find the instances persuasive, I appreciate the initiate of this article to speak up for celebrities and the attempt to promote equality, I support this idea.
Student • Jan 29, 2025 at 10:22 am
I agree with the perspective because its true what the author says, its not fair that celebrities have things going on in their life that they have to deal with, they cant just let it slide, yet people cant understand that because they are being selfish and want entertainment. Thats not fair celebrities are humans as well, they cant get sick, have medical issues, family issues/family emergencies like you never know, so the fact that people cant sit here and blame them for not being able to come due to MEDICAL EMERGENCY is just really irritating/frustrating. Celerities have every right to cancel their tours if they have to then they need to do what they gotta do and thats it. They dont owe nobody no explanation. They got their own situations they gotta deal with so for people not to understand that just annoys me.
Jaylan • Jan 29, 2025 at 10:04 am
Celebrities are people too. It is very easy to view them as special or think that they are just their for people’s entertainment but they are just regular humans. This is especially true when you only see them through screens when you watch your favorite movie or when you only hear them while you doing your homework and listen to music but they get sick, tired, and burned out just like the rest us of. People also think that they will never see what people say about them on social media so it doesn’t matter but they scroll just like us and they will see those videos. It is unfair to them to be further punished by people when they cannot perform due to things like getting sick. People should try to change their view on celebrities as they are not special but regular humans just like us who are affected by what people say.
mia • Jan 29, 2025 at 9:59 am
I believe that celebrities should absolutely be able to put themselves first! Not only is it important for their health and mental wellbeing, but it would also tank a celebrities/artists performance if they were to put themselves on stage at a time where they no longer felt capable. Just like any other job. Sure, there is a conversation to be had regarding how long of a notice you give your fans, whether or not full refunds are issued, and an unfortunate side effect of coming off like you “don’t care about your fans” (which is rather parasocial!), but it’s also regarded a problem when fans pay a big price and have a lot of excitement to see an artist, only for the performance to be… not that great. I think either way, those types of fans will complain. But of course, everything is situational. If you’re a celebrity who is rarely consistent and you’re cancelling on things that are not that big of a commitment, it’s rude and you obviously have some time management problems or a lack of care. But that’s just like any other person. If you had a friend who had to cancel on a really big planned out vacation, it would suck, but you’d understand. If they consistently cancel every time you try to hang out over small and clearly preventable conflicts, then that friend would be rude and you’d probably need to have a conversation. 🙂
Henry Goldstein • Jan 29, 2025 at 9:59 am
I think that celebrities are just as human as we are in terms of their capacity to do big things like go on tour. Making music and performing in front of thousands of people is obviously part of their life, but they are not perfect and not everything will go well 100% of the time. I understand that people would be upset if they bought tickets for a concert just for it to get canceled on very short notice, but bashing the artist down to the very core of their talent and ambition is just wrong. If the artist is offering refunds, it is okay to be upset but there isn’t really and good reason to start taking your anger out on the artist, especially since their intention was not to hurt the fans.
Amir • Jan 29, 2025 at 9:58 am
I agree that celebrities should have the same freedom as us because they were once like one of us in the first place. It shows that anyone can do whatever they set their mind to. I would see why fans would be sad or even mad that a concert was canceled because the world can have its problems too. Just because they are rich and have a lot of money doesn’t mean they can make it to every performance. Celebrities do get overwhelmed by their fans because they could be asking too many things or negativity could be spread about the person. As a celebrity, they are just as vulnerable as us when it comes to mental health and they should have free time too. If they need a break they can take one.
Maddi • Jan 29, 2025 at 9:54 am
I agree with the argument of this article. Society has begun to view celebrities who aren’t human and it’s not at all fair. Celebrities spend hours getting ready for a red carpet-event. They could feel the most beautiful/handsome they have ever felt but still get bashed down because those who idolize or follow the celebrity wouldn’t pick that outfit themselves. Celebrities are being held to an expectation that they have to be more than perfect and do whatever the people want so they aren’t hated, which brings down their mental health. There are an unbelievable amount of celebrities that get death threats day to day because the viewers and fans don’t want them to do what they have decided to do for themselves. It’s inhumane to expect such things from these day-to-day human beings and it should stop as soon as possible.
Lucas • Jan 29, 2025 at 9:47 am
I agree that celebrities should have the same freedoms as the rest of us. No matter how famous you are, you have no entitlement to your fans or anyone else. Although disappointing, you cannot blame someone for canceling a show or a tour, no matter the reason. As long as everyone gets their money back, there is no harm done. It is important to understand that mental health is incredibly important for a person’s well-being, and everyone struggles with it in some way or another. This is very important when looking at someone with such large responsibilities, like a highly influential artist or celebrity. It is important to remember that if you want this person to be at their best, their mental health needs to be as well.
remy alper • Jan 29, 2025 at 9:47 am
I 100% agree with this article because all celebrities have their own lives too and if they have to take an absence to take care of something then the fans need to get over it. I understand where fans would be coming from if a concert or event was cancelled in such short notice especially if they had to travel far or by plane to get there then that would suck but also life happens and things come up in peoples lives so if a celebrity has to cancel then its probably for the best because even if the celebrity didn’t cancel and probably should have they may not show up to the occasion as their best self. Celebrities also deserve a break just as much as any other human and it wouldn’t be fair to give them no breaks. Also all celebrities should have the right to cancel shows especially if they want to be their best self for their fans.
Ava • Jan 28, 2025 at 6:55 pm
I agree with this article. Celebrities are humans as well and deserve a break as much as the next person. When Celebrities cancel their tours it’s heartbreaking news to hear, especially when people are excited to see their favorite rapper; but when a break is needed or an emergency comes up everyone including celebrities needs to take a break and know when to slow down. It’s not right for people to give negativity to celebrities when they have to cancel an event, Many situations happen in life, where things you were excited about can’t happen at that moment. We all are human and need breaks so that we can function in life. In my opinion, I do feel celebrities should give an earlier notice than two days to cancel a concert. Many people do come from all over the world to come to see their favorite celebrity and it is inconvenient when they cancel a few days before. In conclusion, Celebrities are still humans who need breaks and shouldn’t be punished for canceling their events, but they should still be considerate of people’s time and cancel events earlier.
leila • Jan 28, 2025 at 11:00 am
I agree with the opinions shared in this article. I think people feel like they are able to say the most horrible things about celebrities because they see them only through the viewer’s eyes and not the celebrities. I think because people do not actually know the celebrities personally they feel no remorse for them so whatever negative words they put out to the world about the celebrities they simply do not care how the celebrity will feel about it and probably think that it does not even affect the celebrity. And they might even think that the celebrity does not feel or even is not allowed to feel human emotions even though they are human.
Malea • Jan 28, 2025 at 8:57 am
I think celebrities are seen as people who are more than human and that perspective needs to come to and end. It’s unfair to raise them to such high expectations and then get upset when they might not meet them for personal reasons. Just as people get sick, or need a mental health break, celebrities do as well. They are just as human as we are so why treat them as they are not? They should have the right to cancel shows especially if they want to be 100% for their fans and give them what they paid for. You can get upset, but you can’t blame them for wanting to give you a good show.
Sylvie • Jan 28, 2025 at 8:42 am
I agree with the argument in this article. I do think that celebrities should be able to have breaks and take care of themselves, even if unfortunately it does cause them to postpone a concert or tour. I understand why fans may be unhappy about these situations because they do pay a lot of money to see artists preform and travel as well. I do think that even though you cannot refund a plane ride or any kind of transportation rides, that some artists are kind to let you refund your tickets, which does help if a fan is mad about losing money, although they did decide to travel to see the artist and that was not the choice of the celebrity.