Popular comedian George Lopez was in the middle of a New Year’s Eve stand-up comedy set when he started appearing physically distressed. He reportedly asked for some water and tried to continue before apologizing to the crowd and walking off stage. The evening’s late show was later cancelled as well.
Exactly what happened is still unclear. A patron who was at the event spoke to TMZ and told the outlet the comedian was about 30 to 45 minutes into his set when he started appearing off. He was allegedly sweating and asked for water. Someone eventually got him some, but he wasn’t able to continue. He told the crowd he was sorry and left the stage. An ambulance was reportedly called to the scene later, but it’s unclear whether he got any medical treatment.
The gig was one of two Lopez was scheduled to play at the Muckleshoot Events Center at the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, Washington for New Year’s Eve. The cancelled performance has already been rescheduled for March 18th, which puts it in the middle of several large gigs he has that month, including dates in Philadelphia, Washington DC and Bakersfield. He also has quite a few dates already scheduled in April, May and June, including several at the Mirage in Las Vegas. You can check out the announcement of the gig cancellation below…
It is with sincere apologies that we must announce the cancellation of tonight’s 8 pm performance by George Lopez. Please contact your point-of-sale for refund information. pic.twitter.com/jdaIrjhqIAJanuary 1, 2022
George Lopez is probably best known to the general public for his self-titled television show that ran for six seasons on ABC between 2002 and 2007. He later had his own late night show on TBS, as well as another TV series on TV Land that ran for two seasons. Throughout it all, however, he’s always been a force in stand-up comedy world, touring regularly and releasing four HBO specials and one back in 2020 for Netflix.
Neither Lopez nor his reps have spoken about exactly what happened. In the aftermath, many fans went to social media to express their concerns. The comedian hasn’t directly responded, however, he has been engaging on Twitter about some other things; so, hopefully whatever health problem he dealt with isn’t too serious.
In addition to his live comedy performances (a list of upcoming gigs can be found here), Lopez can also still regularly be seen on television. He’s producing and starring in the upcoming Amazon pilot called Once Upon A Time In Aztlan. He also has a comedy pilot for NBC called Lopez vs Lopez, which will co-star his daughter. If all goes well, that one could be in line for a timeslot in the 2022-2023 season.
