Robbie Williams has been diagnosed with autism, which he says "explains so much" and serves as his "get-out-of-jail-free card". The singer, who previously revealed he has ADHD, shared the news during a Q&A session in London this week.
Diagnosis 'explains so much'
According to Metro, Williams told the audience: "I have ADHD, and I just found out I have a bit of autism as well, which I actually f****ng love because it explains so much."
He added: "It is my get-out-of-jail-free card now, and all the weird s*** I do, I just say, 'Sorry, I'm autistic'." The former Take That star also discussed how he uses his diagnosis to focus on creative activities.
Obsession with creativity
The 52-year-old said: "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."
He shared an example of his intrusive thoughts: "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'. 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."
Mental health struggles
The NHS describes autism as "a difference in how your brain develops that affects how you see and experience the world." It can impact communication, thinking, learning, and attention, and autistic people are more likely to have conditions such as anxiety and depression.
Williams has been open about his battles with anxiety and depression. On the podcast I'm ADHD! No You're Not last year, he said: "I'm an Olympian at masking because what I managed to do, to my detriment as well, is I will look full of bravado and look pompous and look smug and do these grand gestures, which have worked for me because they put my face on the poster and people still buy tickets."
He added: "But actually, what's happening is, I feel like the opposite of that all the time." He also revealed that he often has intrusive thoughts, saying: "I was just walking down the road the other day, and I realised that these intrusive thoughts are inside Tourette's. It just doesn't come out."
In January, Williams told The Independent: "It took me nearly a couple of decades to fight through it, and now I'm at the other end, and it's beautiful."
