Pete Doherty Hospitalized, Fans Believe Him Dead

British rocker Pete Doherty of The Babyshambles, once described by a judge one of the most talented and troubled artists of our times, has again been rushed to the hospital. He was supposed to perform in Nice when the announcement was made that the show would be rescheduled, with some fans even fearing the worst for him, namely that he’d died, Toronto Sun informs, citing a Wenn report.

As fans (and not only) must know only too well by know, Doherty must be the official holder of the record for the largest number of arrests and almost no charges and even less jail time of all celebrities – granted such a record title existed. His battle with addiction both to heavy drugs and alcohol has been intensely documented in the media because of the overwhelming number of times he’s been caught on the wrong side of the law and the many times he’s been admitted to the emergency room.

This time, fans believed this was the end of him. “Fans were filing into the Theatre de Verdure in Nice, where the Babyshambles star was scheduled to perform when news spread that he had been admitted to hospital. Concertgoers were told the show would be rescheduled at a later date. One fan tells Wenn his devotees feared the worst, with speculation that Doherty’s ongoing drug problems had claimed his life. She says, ‘Some fans were crying. It was terrible’,” the Toronto Sun writes.

Those fans who did not believe the worst and heard only that the show had been canceled and would take place at a later date were downright furious. Many had flown from other countries to see Pete perform and they expected more of him. “Three young Italian girls were really mad. They drove four hours from Italy to see Pete Doherty and couldn’t believe the gig was cancelled. One of them was really furious and shouted, ‘I can’t believe he did that! It cost us time and money to come all the way from Italy’,” an eyewitness says for the same publication.

At the time of writing, other details on Doherty’s mysterious condition that required hospitalization – and, in the process, disappointed many fans – were not available. Also unknown is whether the hospitalization had anything to do with drug use, but make sure you keep an eye on this space for updates. 

Follow me on Twitter @ElenaGorgan