Lionel Richie‘s longtime pal and fellow music legend Smokey Robinson says the “American Idol” judge is “doing great” one month after he underwent an ablation to treat atrial fibrillation, commonly known as Afib.
Richie had a tumultuous summer of hospitalizations and canceled shows, including spending several days in a St. Louis ICU. In an interview that TMZ posted on October 21, 2026, Robinson told the outlet that he reached out as soon as he heard about Richie’s condition. The two icons have known each other for over 50 years, since Richie’s 70s band, the Commodores, first signed with Motown Records.
Smokey Robinson Says He Had the Same Heart Procedure as Lionel Richie Did
When one of TMZ’s reporters caught up with Robinson at LAX, he asked the R&B icon what he knew about Richie’s condition.
“Lionel’s my brother, man, you know?” Robinson responded. “And I called to find out what was happening, and I talked to the guy at his house, and Lionel was in the hospital. But he’s doing great.”
“You know, he had a procedure,” Robinson continued, adding that ablations are “very common nowadays. I’ve had it. It’s just (to) stop the blockage and all that. So, he’s doing great.”
A cardiac ablation is a “minimally invasive procedure that creates scars to stop the electrical impulses that cause irregular heart rhythms,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. Patients are typically sedated while a cardiologist inserts a catheter through a blood vessel into the heart, and then uses heat, cold, or short bursts of energy to “create scars in areas where the arrhythmia starts.”
Richie was first hospitalized in late June, after he started feeling dizzy while kicking off his summer concert tour with Earth, Wind & Fire in Minneapolis.
Smokey Robinson Says He Doubts ‘American Idol’ Would Replace Lionel Richie ‘Permanently’
TMZ also asked Robinson what he knew, if anything, about the rumors that Richie’s health issues have forced “American Idol” execs to start looking into possible replacements for the judging panel.
“I don’t know what’s going on with this ‘American Idol’ situation,” Robinson added. “But I doubt if they would replace him permanently.”
Robinson said he gets bored if he stays at home for too long, and he can’t imagine Richie being willing to give up being in the limelight and touring either.
“It’s therapy for all of us when we do this, man, and Lionel’s been doing this for a long time,” Robinson said. “And I don’t see this as being the end of his career or anything like that. He’s just taking a pause. I’m sure he’s gonna be back.”
In September, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood announced they were returning for season 25 of “American Idol” while they performed together in Nashville. Richie beamed in with a recorded video to say he’s also on board for what will be his 10th season. With the show moving to filming in Atlanta, however, it’s not known yet how he’ll handle the commute from his home in Los Angeles, while Bryan and Underwood live much closer, in Nashville.
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How is Lionel Richie Doing? Smokey Robinson Provides Update After Richie’s ICU Stay & Heart Procedure