Comedian Gabriel Iglesias has cancelled several tour dates while dealing with some undisclosed health and emotional issues according to various social media posts by Iglesias.
According to Pollstar , there are no specific details as to how long Gabriel will be taking time off and Iglesias’ manager and agent have yet to respond to inquiries. Iglesias was scheduled to perform tonight in Cleveland. So far, Gabriel’s fans in Detroit, Miami, Orlando, and Hidalgo, Texas, have been informed that Iglesias will be rescheduling his shows.
On Sunday, Iglesias posted an Instagram message noting that he had been having some struggles but the context of Gabriel’s post indicated that he had overcome them.
Gabriel Iglesias, who goes by the nickname “Fluffy,” gained notoriety after competing on Season 4 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing . Though Gabriel made it into the final eight, he was disqualified after it was discovered he had smuggled a BlackBerry into the competition and was using it to communicate with family and friends which was against the rules.
Despite the hiccup in his career, Iglesias found success through several Comedy Central specials and bit movie roles. Gabriel’s career was further boosted by the release of several of his specials on Netflix.
Gabriel Iglesias currently has a show on Fuse TV called Fluffy Breaks Even . In it, Iglesias and his friends travel around the country asking fans where the best places are to eat. This is followed by asking where the best places are to work out so that Gabriel and his group can “break even” on calories.
Iglesias’ comedic style is to take normal everyday situations and poke fun at them. His stand up is relatively clean and he spends a fraction of the time sharing self-depreciating humor with the audience over his weight and size.
In a 2012 interview with the Columbus Dispatch , Iglesias talked about the toll touring takes on his family and how that wears on him emotionally.
“A I travel a lot, so it takes its toll on my family. I tour for 46 weeks out of the year but I come home every week. I try to balance being a boyfriend and father with being a great comedian,” Gabriel said before noting all of his other business endeavors. Apparently Iglesias noticed the need for larger men to have T-shirts that fit more appropriately and incorporated clothing into his comedy enterprise. Gabriel is known for frequently wearing Hawaiian print shirts during his routines.
During an interview in 2014 with Mario Lopez, Gabriel Iglesias discussed being diagnosed with type II diabetes. When asked by Lopez how the diagnosis affected him, Iglesias said , “Ya know, I knew I was diabetic for a while and it was just one of those things where I was like ‘eh I’m young. I’m fine. I’m okay.’”
Despite being told by others the toll that diabetes can take on various parts of the body including the eyes and kidneys, Gabriel admits it wasn’t until he woke up impotent one morning that the diabetes grabbed his attention. During that interview, Iglesias said he had lost nearly 100 pounds in six months.
While some speculated that Iglesias must have had bariatric surgery to achieve such a feat, Gabriel told the Today Show he went on a high-protein low-carb diet. Somewhere, Oprah Winfrey is probably shuddering at Iglesias’ confession that he gave up bread among other things in an attempt to get his weight under control.
Whether or not his current hiatus is related to his diabetes or some other ailment is unknown. Iglesias specifically cited emotional issues on top of his health ones. Regardless, Gabriel’s fans were very supportive of Fluffy taking some time to get well.
@fluffyguy Love you Gabriel. Take all the time you need to get better, don’t EVER feel like you’re letting people down. Take care of you. Xo
— Allie Mac Kay (@alliemackay) March 2, 2017
@fluffyguy When someone has brought the immense happiness you have to our lives, you need not apologize for taking care of yourself. #Fluffy
— Jason (@DestinyUCreate) March 1, 2017
Hopefully Iglesias will be on the mend soon, and when Gabriel’s ready, we know he’ll use his current situation as new material to do what he does best — make others laugh.
Get well, Gabriel!
[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]