Stevie Wonder has hit back at a rumor that suggests the legendary R&B singer-songwriter isn’t actually blind.
During a July 9 performance on his Love, Light & Song mini tour through Europe, the 75-year-old recording artist spoke to the audience after learning that some people believe he can see.
In a video from the concert, Wonder pauses his show to speak to the audience about his personal life and how being blind has impacted his perception of the world around him.
Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Stevie Wonder performs at the 2024 Democratic National Convention
“I must say to all of you something I was thinking, and I wanted to let the world know this. I want to say it right now,” Wonder said while wearing his signature sunglasses. “You know, there have been rumors about me seeing, and all of that.”
In the clip, the audience can be heard laughing at the notion.
Still, Wonder continued, “But, seriously, you know the truth. The truth is, shortly after my birth, I became blind.”
He told the audience that he feels becoming blind at such a young age “was a blessing” in disguise.
“It has allowed me to see the world in the vision of truth, of sight — see people in the spirit of them, not how they look, or what color they are,” he continued. “But, what color is their spirit?”
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for Wonder for additional comment.
Wonder has opened up about living as a blind person in the past, including during a 2024 conversation with Barack Obama on the Wonder of Stevie podcast.
“I was born. Shortly after that, I’m blind. My mother went through the different things, and so my experience with that was deep,” he said, per PEOPLE, adding that his mother would cry “every night” until he told her, “Mama, you shouldn’t cry, you’re making my head hurt.”
Wonder then recalled, “And I said, ‘Maybe God has something for me that’s bigger than all this,'” and that “history proved” that for him.
In addition to his iconic career in music — including legendary hits like “Superstition” and “I Wish” — Wonder has used his platform to champion various causes.
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On top of labeling his upcoming North American tour as a chance for attendees to help “fix our nation’s broken heart” amid divisive politics, Wonder also recently participated in the FireAid benefit concert, proceeds from which went to short-term relief efforts following the devastating wildfires that swept Los Angeles earlier this year.
Watch Wonder address a rumor alleging that he’s not really blind in the video above.
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