The Libertines rocker Pete Doherty was given a serious warning after being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The 45-year-old star was told by doctors that he could have his toes amputated. At a gig in Cologne, bandmate Carl Barat was seen assisting him off the stage and earlier this month, Pete used a walking stick while at a gallery launch event in Berlin. During some of his tour, he had to perform from a chair.
He said to his fans in his recent concert in Munich, Germany: "I saw the doctor today and he said you need to stay off your feet as much as you can otherwise you’ll lose your toes." In early 2024, he revealed he had type 2 diabetes. In an interview with the Guardian’s Saturday magazine, he said: “I gave up the main poisons and my health improved. Then you get told alcohol and cheese and sugar are just as bad and you were healthier when you were on heroin.” Pete went on to call himself “a bit of a glutton,” adding, “It’s not a joke. I’ve been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. And at the moment I’m lacking the discipline to tackle cholesterol.”.
The year before, while taking part in the BBC's 'Louis Theroux Interviews' series, the rocker also discussed his colourful past and how it's had a huge effect on his health. In one scene of the documentary, Pete coughed before clutching his chest and groaning in pain. He said: "You are looking at a very sick man. I've battered it, haven't I, I've f***ing caned it. The heroin and the crack... I surrendered to that, and then it was cocaine and the smoking and the alcohol, and now it's cheese and the saucisson, and the sugar in the tea.".
Pete added: "It's all gotta go. They told me a little while ago if you don't change your diet then you're gonna have diabetes and cholesterol problems. Death's lurking, you know what I mean? That's why I carry that stick." Pete has been mostly clean since 2019 and said Frederic Lo was the one who lifted him out of darkness as he credited him for helping him amid his struggles. The singer was previously notoriously known for his drug-fuelled public antics in the late nineties and noughties while being the poster boy for indie music. He has distanced himself from the rock 'n' roll lifestyle and leads a quiet life in Normandy.
