Turkish media reported Saturday that pop star Robbie Williams’s planned October 7 concert in Istanbul has been canceled due to his public support for Israel.
The decision followed mounting criticism on Turkish social media in recent days over the show. Williams, 51, faced attacks not only for performing in Israel in the past, but also for his marriage to Ayda Field — who was born in Turkey to a Jewish mother. At that concert in Israel, Williams said he and Field raise their children as Jewish and observe some traditions at home “out of respect for you and your history.”
Williams also made headlines last week after revealing on the podcast 'I’m ADHD! No You’re Not' that he had been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. He said he used to struggle with intrusive thoughts before understanding they were part of the condition.
“I was just walking down the street one day and realized these intrusive thoughts were actually Tourette’s,” he explained. “You’d think a stadium full of people declaring their love for you would help, but whatever’s inside me doesn’t hear it. I just can’t take it in.”
The British singer added that he once believed he was on the autism spectrum, until an online test showed otherwise. “Turns out I’m not autistic, but I do have autistic traits, especially in social situations and interactions,” Williams said.
He said he thought an official autism diagnosis would have given him “an understanding of why I feel so uncomfortable in my own skin. When I’m in bed, that’s my comfort zone. Anywhere outside of bed is the discomfort zone,” he said. “It’s getting better — it was horrible in my 20s, awful in my 30s. In my 40s it started to improve, and I’m on the up. But I’m still not at ease in my own skin.”