Lewis Capaldi says Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugs

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Lewis Capaldi says Tourette
Lewis Capaldi says Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugs

Lewis Capaldi has revealed he has been accused of taking drugs due to his Tourette's syndrome.

The 26-year-old Before You Go singer revealed he's been asked "directly" if he's on drugs – but insisted that "wasn't the case".

Lewis, who's Netflix documentary is set to be released on Wednesday, revealed his Tourette's tics cause the accusations.

Singer Lewis was diagnosed with the condition last year and has been open about it ever since.

He explained: "The truth is, I’m not banging loads of gear down. This isn’t drugs, and I’ve had that accusation on nights out.

Carol Vorderman takes rarely seen daughter Katie to meet Lewis Capaldi backstage qhiquqidqdiqrxinvCarol Vorderman takes rarely seen daughter Katie to meet Lewis Capaldi backstage

"People have asked me directly, ‘Are you on drugs, is it cocaine?’ and I saw a few tweets knocking around after shows with people saying ‘He’s on drugs’ — and that wasn’t the case.

Lewis Capaldi says Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugsLewis has said his Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugs (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"If you think I’m going to take drugs and then come out on stage in front of 15,000 and then try to do a show — I mean, obviously, I wait until afterwards. That’s a joke," Lewis added to The Sun.

It comes after Lewis revealed he may have to quit music for good if his Tourette's worsens.

Lewis revealed making music causes his Tourette's tics to worsen.

"It's only making music that does this to me, otherwise I can be fine for months at a time, so it's a weird situation," he told The Times.

Lewis Capaldi says Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugsLewis was helped by fans when he had a Tourette's episode during a live performance recently (TIKTOK)
Lewis Capaldi says Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugsLewis said it's a 'real possibility' he might have to end his music career (TIKTOK)

"Right now, the trade-off is worth it, but if it gets to a point where I'm doing irreparable damage to myself, I'll quit.

"I hate hyperbole but it is a very real possibility that I will have to pack music in."

He said that his tic is getting "quite bad" on stage at the moment and that he's trying to get on top of it.

Earlier this year, Lewis was forced to allow fans to take over during a live performance as his Tourette's tics took over.

The heart-warming moment showed the crowd continuing to sing all the lyrics to the musician’s flagship track whilst he turned away from the microphone as he dealt with the symptoms.

Melanie Sykes explains how she dealt with her later-life health diagnosisMelanie Sykes explains how she dealt with her later-life health diagnosis
Lewis Capaldi says Tourette's tics have seen fans accuse him of taking drugsLewis has admitted he might need to quit music if his symptoms worsen (Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images)

In the clip, which quickly went viral on TikTok and Instagram, fans were seen singing the song for the star and continued to do so until the end.

Eventually, Lewis was able to carry on performing and appeared to signal a thumbs up to a stage hand to indicate that he was okay and happy to continue with the performance.

Lewis went public with his diagnosis as he didn't want fans thinking he is "taking cocaine or something".

Lewis explained how he was relieved to find out he had the condition because he originally feared he might be suffering a degenerative disease, and says he can see signs he had Tourette's when looking back at old interviews.

The Hold Me While You Wait singer has been treated with Botox injections to freeze muscles to try to control the tics characteristic of Tourette’s, and reassures fans his shoulder twitches are " not as bad as it looks".

Amy Denman

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