“Some people said they checked in on me but did not. I can’t name and shame, but it was bizarre… really weird.”
Lewis Capaldi ignored by Justin Bieber after partying with star. Photo: Capital FM Listen to Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby weekdays from 6am 10am across the UK and on Global Player
Lewis Capaldi has revealed stars lied about checking in on him after he retreated from the spotlight during a devastating battle with anxiety and Tourette’s.
The singer, 28, was unable to finish his Glastonbury set in 2023 when the condition saw him carried over the line by the crowd who sang for him.
He says Elton John was one of the first people to phone him after the emotional appearance that led him to step back from performing until a comeback appearance on the Pyramid Stage in June.
But others claimed to have done so when they did not even in touch with the Scots star.
Lewis Capaldi performs at Skydeck at Assembly Food Hall on July 10, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Speaking on Hits Radio, the Scottish singer branded the Rocket man, 78, a “really cool dude” as well as praising pal Niall Horan, 31, for his support during that difficult time.
Lewis said: “The day after Glastonbury Elton phoned and said it was wise to take a break. I knew he had my email but I didn’t know he had my number so he must have it from management or something.
“Niall obviously [was in contact]. We’re in a group chat so I speak to him quite a a lot. But some people said they checked in on me but did not. I can’t name and shame, but it was bizarre… really weird.”
The Glaswegian singer made his return to music with an epic and emotional performance at Glastonbury, almost two years after he broke down on the very same stage before taking a hiatus to focus on his physical and mental health.
His return coincided with a new track Survive soaring to Number 1.
Having taken some time away from the limelight and the ‘pressures’ of being a star, he said that he’s now ‘doing much better’ and is no longer taking the antidepressant Sertraline.
“I’m not on antidepressants anymore,” Lewis told fans on a livestream. “It was f*****g hard to get off it. You could say I survived getting off Sertraline but let’s not get into that. This is happy stuff, I’m trying to share less.”
He later added: “I’ve felt the best I’ve felt in a long time through therapy.
“I think I will always be an anxious person, accepting that’s always going to be there for me is a big thing. It’s about how I respond to anxiety.”
It comes after Lewis also revealed Justin Bieber ‘ghosted’ him despite spending a wild night out together at a star-studded bash.
Lewis Capaldi attends day two of the Electric Picnic festival at Stradbally in Co Laois. Picture date: Saturday August 30, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire
He told Capital Breakfast’s Chris Stark that despite the pair exchanging numbers on the night, Justin, 31, failed to respond to his message the morning after.
He said: “It was amazing, there was famous people, Charli xcx was there, Justin Bieber was there. Justin Bieber comes over and said ‘hey man, what’s going on?’ And I said, ‘you don’t remember my name?’ And he said, ‘of course I do, you’re Lewis Capaldi’.
“Me and Bieber had this super night together, like really lovely evening together. We didn’t spend the night together, but we hung out and I’m like ‘me and the Biebs are gonna be best pals, this is huge’.
“And he’s like ‘man make sure I get your number tomorrow’. And I was like ‘me and the Biebs, this is huge’.
“I text him maybe the most sucking up his a*** text. I said, ‘Just wanted to jump on bro, last night was so special, great guy, so nice to hang out with you, such a dude’, blah blah all this stuff.
“He likes it and doesn’t reply. So if you’re out there Bieber, wherever you are, text me back please. Bieber aired me.”
In his first radio interview in two years, the hitmaker touched on his career hiatus.
He said: “I’ve done a lot of growing up in the last year and a bit. Weirdly, I felt like the last two years I’ve had off, I was getting better but I was also kind of having my uni experience. Because I went and toured while everyone was at uni.
“There’s times where I kicked the a*** out of it. Like going out and having nights in here and nights out in London, because I moved to London as well and I was getting to grips with that and stuff.”
Lewis’ comeback tour sold out in seconds last month. He is set to play Aberdeen’s P&J arena on September 10 and 11 and Glasgow’s Hydro on September 13 and 14.
He attended day two of the Electric Picnic festival at Stradbally in Co Laois, Ireland, on Saturday.