The Queen of Soul is canceling two upcoming concerts due to doctor’s orders, according to Rolling Stone.
Aretha Franklin has been ordered to rest for the next two months, her management team announced in a statement Friday. This means that she will not perform on March 25 in Newark, New Jersey, and on April 28 at her headlining gig at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
“Aretha Franklin has been ordered by her doctor to stay off the road and rest completely for at least the next two months,” Franklin’s management said in a statement. “She is extremely disappointed she cannot perform at this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as she had expected and hoped to.”
Rumors of the iconic singer’s deteriorating health have been around since 2011 with stories surfacing that she was battling pancreatic cancer. She has squashed the rumors.
Franklin also revealed in a 2017 interview that she would soon retire from touring.
“I am retiring this year,” the singer said. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.”