Music icon canceled shows due to death threats and PTSD

The cancellations follow two canceled performances in Mexico City and Zapopan last week, also due to exhaustion. Promoters OCESA confirmed that both shows had been canceled just hours before he was due to take the stage.

“We inform the public in Mexico City and Guadalajara that, due to the artist’s extreme exhaustion, Morrissey’s concerts have been canceled,” they said in a statement.

It is the latest in a series of health and safety crises for the How fast is it now? hitmaker.

In September, Morrissey abruptly canceled two US dates in Connecticut and Boston after a “credible threat” was made against his life.

A statement on his official Facebook account read: “Over the past few days there has been a credible threat to Morrissey’s life. Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of both the artist and the audience, tonight’s performance at Foxwoods has been cancelled.”

Police later confirmed that a 26-year-old Ottawa man had been arrested and charged with making threats against the singer on social media. The man has since been released on bail under strict conditions, but sources say the ordeal has deeply affected Morrissey.

“He has been tense since the threat,” said a friend of the musician. “It really upset him.

Even at the Ottawa show that followed, you could tell his confidence was shaken; He just didn’t seem like himself.”

In October he was also forced to cancel shows in Turkey after criticism of his support for Israel, while in the summer he canceled a concert in Stockholm claiming he had “zero support from the music industry”.

On his official site Morrissey Central, he said: “We pray to God that someone somewhere can help us reach Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark… where we have thousands and thousands of friends, but absolutely no support from the music industry.”

A music industry insider said: “Morrissey is at a breaking point. The non-stop touring, the stress, the adversity – it has exhausted him. He keeps pushing forward, but it’s clear his body and mind can’t handle much more.”

Morrissey was also recently hospitalized with a serious sinus infection, forcing the cancellation of several dates in California.

“People don’t realize how much he’s given over the years,” says one longtime associate.

“He’s now in his 60s, still touring non-stop and doing it largely alone. Right now he’s just running on determination and whatever energy he has left.”