Robbie Williams has revealed he’s been secretly living with what he described as “inside Tourette’s” and frequently battles “intrusive thoughts”.
The pop star shared the news of his secret battle on the Welch [sic] comedian Paul [Whitehouse] and Dr Mine Conkbayir’s podcast I’m ADHD! No You’re Not.
“I’ve just realised that I have Tourette’s, but they don’t come out,” he said on the podcast. “I was just walking down the road the other day and I realised that these intrusive thoughts are ‘inside Tourette’s’.”
Tourette Syndrome is a genetic neurological disorder characterised by repetitive, involuntary vocalisations and movements, known as tics. Tics can range from simple motor actions like eye blinking to more complex vocal sounds.
Williams said he has become an “Olympian at masking” his symptoms but admitted that the condition makes it very difficult to perform live.
“I have a very complicated relationship with touring and performing live,” he said. “People say: ‘Oh, you going on tour? You must be really, really excited.’ Not really. I’m terrified.
“I will look full of bravado and look pompous and look smug and do these grand gestures, which have worked for me because they put my face on the poster and people still buy tickets,” Williams added. “But actually what’s happening is I feel like the opposite of that all the time, most of the time.”
NZ Herald
Face of the Day
Related
Face of the Day
“Barbara Edmonds will be the minister of finance. She is the best qualified person in parliament to be the minister of finance. That is a bottom line. It’s not negotiable” – Hipkins
Face of the Day
“It is a dense economic document, but John Key is a very smart man, so I encourage him to give it a read” – Nicola Willis
Face of the Day
The judge ordered a four-year starting point, two years below what the Crown sought but four months above the defence’s suggestion. He then allowed 50 per cent in reductions for his guilty pleas and for matters related to his drug addiction.
Face of the Day
New Plymouth councillor Murray Chong is popular for his strong beliefs in honest public service, bureaucratic transparency and prudent use of public money, says NZ First.
Latest
Māori Gods Rule the CRL Underworld
Anyone who thinks the role of the transport agency is to provide efficient and safe ferries, buses and trains is clearly mistaken. AT has taken upon itself the task of providing compulsory language lessons to a captive audience.
Exclusive Excerpts From Nicky Hager’s Dirty Work
Mr Hager is known to be working on a follow up to both Dirty Politics and Dirty Work, entitled Dirty Jokes. A compendium of jokes scrawled on the parliamentary bathroom walls. The mothers of several well-known MPs are said to figure prominently.
Quick Hit: Willis’s Better Books Came Partly Out of Your Trolley
Treasury has the deficit at $6.8 billion and next year within $0.8 billion of surplus. It says that is partly inflation lifting the tax take while spending allowances stay fixed, which is how Willis got there with no new taxes.