Just two weeks into her Broadway run as Erzulie, the former Destiny's Child member is ordered by her doctor to 'take a leave of absence from performing.'
- Dec 13, 2018
AceShowbiz - Former Destiny's Child star Michelle Williams (II) has been forced to exit Broadway's "Once on This Island" on her doctor's orders.
The singer and actress is stepping down from her role as Erzulie just two weeks into her run, which began on 30 November.
She will be replaced by her understudy, Cassondra James, up to 26 December, before Lea Salonga, who originated the role, returns to the cast for the show's final 10 days.
A statement from the play's producers reads: "Michelle was advised by her medical doctors to take a leave of absence from performing."
Williams has yet to comment and there is no information about her health, but earlier this year, she checked herself into a mental health facility to seek help for depression, telling followers on Instagram it was important for her to get "help, support and guidance".
And last month, she appeared on breakfast show "Good Morning America" and opened up about her mental health and rehab stay.
"I was like, 'Just fight it, you've been here before'," she said. "I'm identifying it... I just didn't do enough... so for months, I was slipping and slipping and slipping (and) before you knew it, I was at the bottom of the pit looking up, like, 'Am I really here again?' And I suffered by myself. I didn't want to tell anybody."
"I didn't want anyone to be like, 'Oh my gosh, here we go again. I thought you were over it'."
Michelle, who called off her engagement with Chad Johnson earlier this month, took to social media hours before the news about the end of her play run broke, and wrote: "As 2018 is coming to an end, many of us are doing self-reflections. I've made a vow to myself that I will not allow fear to get the best of me any longer! I will stand at my tallest and be the best version of myself. We all have the abilities to meet and live our dreams if we get out of our own way and go after it!"
