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 A source told People that West was "exhausted and currently
dealing with sleep deprivation" but that he was "fine." NBC News
and other outlets said he was hospitalized in Los Angeles after
police responded to a medical welfare call.
Reuters could not independently confirm the hospitalization.
Concert promoters Live Nation said in a statement on Monday that
the remaining 21 U.S. dates on West's Saint Pablo tour had been
canceled, and that tickets would be fully refunded.
Live Nation gave no reasons, fueling speculation about the state
of West's mental and physical health. A source close to the
"Gold Digger" singer denied West was having some kind of
breakdown, telling celebrity outlets People and Us Weekly that
West was a workaholic who was simply worn out.
"He's just exhausted. He's been working around the clock on
fashion design, both on his own line and the Adidas line. He's a
notorious workaholic, so balancing both that work – which is
extremely important to him – and the rigors of the tour every
night, it really wore him out," a source told People.
The tour cancellation followed a demanding three months for
West, who unveiled the new season of his Yeezy fashion line with
an elaborate performance art event in September in New York.
In October, West's reality star wife, Kim Kardashian, was robbed
at gunpoint in Paris, forcing the family to reassess their
security and their high public profile.
The influential rapper, who is promoting his current album "The
Life of Pablo," made headlines last week when he was booed at
his San Jose, California concert for declaring his support for
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
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He canceled a concert in Los Angeles at the last minute on Sunday,
and on Saturday walked off stage in Sacramento, California after 30
minutes during which he took aim at Beyonce, Jay Z, the media, and
the music industry in general.
West later flooded his Instagram account with dozens of photos of
fashion items.
Billboard magazine estimated that the tour cancellation would mean
$27 million in ticket refunds and untold amounts in other tour
expenses.
West has a history of unpredictable and controversial behavior.
Last year, he declared he was considering running for U.S. president
in 2020. In 2009, he interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at
the MTV Video Music Awards in New York saying the honor should have
gone to Beyonce.
In 2006, he posed as Jesus Christ on the cover of Rolling Stone
magazine, and earlier this year he released a music video for
"Famous" featuring portrayals of nude celebrities including Trump,
Swift and comedian Bill Cosby lying asleep in bed with him.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner
in Oakland and Rory Carroll in San Francisco; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis, Alan Crosby and Michael Perry)
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