Jess Glynne will ‘never be booked’ to play the Isle of Wight Festival ever again, after pulling out minutes before she was due to go on stage.
The 29-year-old singer received the lifetime ban two days after she reportedly left fans in tears on Sunday (June 16) at the festival.
Jess put her no-show down to being ‘incredibly weak and full of anxiety,’ although she has now been accused of partying with the Spice Girls until 7am that morning having supported the girl band on their recent reunion tour.
According to The Mirror, Jess stayed for a star-studded backstage party following the band’s final Wembley Stadium tour date on Saturday.
The Hold My Hand singer was reportedly seen leaving Wembley at 5am with a group of friends, including Mel B, and continued the party at a nearby hotel until at least 7am.
Jess, who was due to perform at the Isle of Wight Festival at 6:30pm, was picked up from London at 9am while the stage was prepared for her set. However, at 6:40pm, festival boss John Giddings announced she wouldn’t be performing.
Taking to Twitter in the aftermath of the critcism levelled at her, the 29-year-old said she was ‘a human being’ and couldn’t help that her ‘body sometimes gives up on’ her.
Jess explained:
I came all the way I got ready and was about to head to stage but I just couldn’t do it. I was incredibly weak and full of anxiety.
The last thing I ever want to do is let people down, I am sorry to anyone who I upset it was not my intention. I had to do what was right for my physical and mental health.
However, John Giddings has criticised the singer’s ‘shocking behaviour’ and has slammed her for letting her fans down.
Speaking to The Mirror, the festival boss declared: ‘She will never be booked to play the Isle of Wight again.’
He continued:
It shows no regards for people that bought a ticket. It’s so sad that an artist would do that to their fans. She’s let them down.
A representative for Jess later told Metro the singer had ‘every intention’ of performing but ultimately had to put her health first, describing her as ‘physically exhausted after a very intense last few weeks of touring’.
This isn’t the first time the singer cancelled a gig last minute; last month, Jess pulled out of Radio 1’s Big Weekend hours before she was due to go on stage, stating she had lost her voice.
Presenter Greg James said at the time it was too late to notify her band, who had already turned up, so they went to watch Aladdin instead.
We hope Jess makes a full recovery in time for her summer outdoor shows later this month.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).