Fans & Friends Rally Around Paula Abdul After She Sustains Tour-Ending Injuries

Heavy/Getty Paula Abdul canceled her tour on September 4, 2024, due to injuries

Fans and friends have rallied around legendary singer and dancer Paula Abdul after the former “American Idol” judge revealed she’s sustained injuries that will force her to cancel her upcoming 2024 tour dates.

On the evening of September 4, Abdul posted a lengthy apology on social media, revealing that her doctors have determined she’ll need a surgical procedure that requires six to eight weeks of recovery, forcing her to stop touring. Refunds will be provided wherever fans purchased their tickets, she said.

Abdul, 62, had just wrapped up the Magic Summer tour with New Kids on the Block and was about to launch her own concert dates, beginning with three nights in a row at the Hollywood Bowl with Boyz II Men. From there, she planned to tour with ’90s artists Taylor Dane and Tiffany across the U.S. and Canada.

“It’s with an incredibly heavy heart that I need to share with you an update regarding some injuries I’ve recently sustained,” Abdul wrote in her post, before explaining that “targeted injections” have allowed her to “keep going” but are not enough to meet the “demands of an entire tour.”

Paula Abdul Promises She’ll Come Back ‘Stronger and Better’

In her message to fans, Abdul shared that after “multiple consultations with my doctors,” they determined that one of her injuries “requires a minor procedure followed by a 6-8 week recovery time.”

Abdul wrote, “I want to extend my deepest apologies to all my amazing fans in Canada and the US, you mean the world to me and this truly breaks my heart. I’ve been looking forward to the energy, love, and connection we always share when we’re together. I promise I’ll be back, stronger and better, dancing my heart out and performing for all of you very soon, to give you the show you deserve.”

Within an hour of Abdul’s news, her post had received over 5,000 likes and hundreds of comments from supportive fans, including one who wrote, “Taking care of YOU is what’s most important. So is your ability to keep dancing for a very, very, very long time. Sending all the love and healing energy your way”

Another commented, “Love you ❤️ when you are ready, I’ll be there with front row tickets in hand. Praying for a safe procedure and a speedy recovery!”

Some of Abdul’s friends in the entertainment business also wrote supportive comments, including one of Abdul’s backup dancers, Eugenia Rodriguez, who wrote, “Strongest leader!!!! Sending all my love for this process and can’t wait till we share the stage again💜”

“American Idol” season six runner-up Blake Lewis wrote, “Hope all goes smoothly and you have swift recovery P!”

Melinda Doolittle, who placed third behind Lewis, also chimed in, writing, “Take good care of yourself! Sending you all the love while you recover. ❤️”

Abdul’s friend Michael Orland, who was music director on the first 16 seasons of “Idol,” commented, “Love you so much. Sending you so much healing love and hugs. And around if you need ANYTHING. I’m better than Uber Eats, just so you know. Xoxo”

Paula Abdul Has Dealt With Years of Injuries & Medical Issues

This is not the first time Abdul has suffered sidelining injuries. Due to strain on her body from decades as a dancer and choreographer, Abdul has osteoarthritis, which she told the Arthritis Foundation has been exacerbated by “putting my body into positions that aren’t normal, or jumping off of stages.”

In addition, Abdul has said she sustained a serious neck injury in the early 1990s when a plane she was in dropped suddenly and she didn’t have her seatbelt on. After numerous cervical surgeries and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), she spent years unable to dance, per the Arthritis Foundation.

“When we plummeted, I hit my head on the ceiling of the plane,” Abdul told Yahoo Entertainment in 2020. “I was really injured. I mean, I had a spinal cord injury and nerve damage. I started losing all feeling on my right side, and I was starting to really live in excruciating pain.”

“So back then neurosurgery, especially with having spinal cord injury and having surgery, there was a 50/50 chance to get better,” she continued. “But I was willing to try, because the quality of my life was starting to really suck, and it hurt. From a (pain) scale of one to 10, my ‘normal’ was hovering at seven. You learn to live like that. It was not fun. I wasn’t able to do what I love, my heart place, which is dancing. That wasn’t happening.”