Robbie Williams has revealed he has been diagnosed with “a bit” of autism to go along with ADHD and “intrusive thoughts.”
Williams spoke about his mental health struggles during a Q&A at the fall/winter launch of his clothing brand Hopeium, per the Daily Mail.
“I have ADHD, and I just found out I have a bit of autism as well, which I actually fucking love because it explains so much,” he said. “It is my get-out-of-jail-free card now, and all the weird shit that I do I just say, ‘Sorry, I’m autistic.’”
Related Video
He continued, “With the ADHD, you can completely and utterly concentrate on something 1000%, but with absolutely everything else, you just cannot do it. Ask my kids. What I’m completely and utterly obsessed with is creating images and making funny things. If I’m creating images and funny things, I’m not thinking about me, because my brain is incredibly creative, and it can be creative about everything in the world that you panic or [are] scared about.”
“For example, this is how crazy I am; recently, I was sitting on a plane, and I thought, ‘What if I can have telekinesis and my intrusive thoughts tell the plane to crash itself,’” Williams added. “So that’s the kind of level of insanity that I’m dealing with. It’s best to train my brain to do something better than worrying about having supernatural powers and crashing a plane.”
The definition of autism has expanded in the past few decades, with looser symptoms including focused interests and issues with social and communication skills.
Last October, the former Take That member also spoke about having what he calls “inside Tourette’s” on comedian Paul Welsh’s podcast, I’m ADHD! No You’re Not, meaning he doesn’t outwardly express his “intrusive thoughts.”
Williams told NME in 2024 that he had ADHD and was neurodivergent and “on the spectrum,” suggesting he could have a form of autism.
In other Robbie Williams news, he broke The Beatles’ record for most UK No. 1 albums earlier this year with Britpop. More recently, he cheekily responded to a viral World Cup “cocaine” conspiracy.
See why Williams’ biopic Better Man earned a spot on our list of 50 Best Music Biopics of All Time.
