D.L. Hughley Hospitalized After Passing Out on Stage During Set

Comedian D.L. Hughley suffered a medical emergency during a performance on stage at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville on Friday. Videos are circulating on social media that show Hughley passing out in the middle of his set. Before that, Hughley seemed to be having trouble speaking. A guard passed him a bottle of water, but Hughley went limp and tried to brace himself against his stool before falling. Hughley’s manager was poised to break the comedian’s fall and then carry him off-stage. Emergency medical responders arrived and took Hughley out of the club on a stretcher. An ambulance brought him to a nearby hospital.

On Saturday, Hughley’s representative told TMZ that the comedian is doing fine after spending the night in the hospital. The representative says Hughley was “suffering from exhaustion after all the week’s work and travel, and was kept overnight at the hospital for tests under doctor’s orders. He is awake and feeling better, and wishes to thank everyone for the very kind prayer and thoughts.”

Hughley’s set took place on Juneteeth and was part of a virtual fundraiser dubbed the “Juneteenth Social Awareness-Thon.” According to Billboard, the event was to promote Black empowerment and education while also raising money to help fight the coronavirus’s spread. The event featured virtual guest appearances by Anthony Anderson, Master P, TLC, Snoop Dogg, and other celebrities.

The event benefitted Master Growers’ “Clean Hands for All” campaign, which delivers bottles of hand sanitizer to inner cities. In a statement, Master Growers co-founders Garnett March and Glen March said, “We just can’t sit on our hands and watch our communities suffer. Health and safety shouldn’t differentiate based on color or economic status. ‘Clean Hands For All’ is our motto, and we’re going to do our very best to hold true to that.”

Hughley is known as a comedian, commentator, and writer. He hosted BET’s ComicView and played the lead role in the sitcom The Hughleys. Hughley was one of the “Big Four” featured in The Original Kings of Comedy. He hosted D.L. Hughley Breaks the News on CNN, appeared as a correspondent on The Jay Leno Show, hosts a radio show in New York City, and earned 9th place on Dancing with the Stars in 2013. He’s had four comedy specials and appeared in films including The Brothers, Chasing Papi, Scary Movie 3, Soul Plane, Shackles, and Spy School. He currently appears on the panel show The Fix.

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