Red Hot Chili Pepper's Anthony Kiedis Talks Health Scare: 'I'd Rather Play Deathly Ill Than Not Play at All'

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The 53-year-old singer is thankfully feeling better following last week's hospitalization.

Anthon Kiedis is finally feeling better after his recent hospitalization.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman told ET Canada that he was bummed about having to cancel the band's appearance at KROQ's Weenie Roast Festival in Irvine, California, on May 15, after he was rushed to the hospital due to complications from the intestinal flu.

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"So it turned out to be a good thing, albeit painful and very sad to have to cancel a show. We don't really do that," Keidis told ET Canada in his first interview since being released from the hospital. "I'd rather play deathly ill than not play at all, but in this particular instance, I was starting to go down, as in to the ground, so I got rushed to the hospital, got some help, and now I get to figure things out."

The 53-year-old rocker explained that he had "inflammation in my guts," which was complicated by a recent stomach virus and existing scar tissue from hernia operations. "That becomes an incredibly painful situation where you get a fever and pass out... Lo an behold, I'm on the mend," he explained, after noting he had to be "pumped clean" in the hospital.

Kiedis now says that he's getting better, noting that he feels "good." "Not great, but good," he admitted. "I think I had to get sick to take a look at myself and get to the causes and conditions of my overall health."

Though an illness is never fun, the scare did help Kiedis put his personal well-being into perspective. "I think I had to get sick to take a look at myself and get to the causes and conditions of my overall health," he said.

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Luckily, the "Under the Bridge" singer has a strong sense of humor about the whole thing, quipping, "I think it was a slow news day. When I opened my phone and I saw I was on the news, I was like, 'Everything must be OK in the world today if that's what's making the news.'"

Hopefully a little more R&R will help Kiedis, as the band still has tour dates ahead of them and are expected to release their 11th studio album, The Getaway, in June.