Bowing out. Michelle Williams will not return to her role in the Broadway musical Once on This Island following her split from Chad Johnson.
“Effective immediately, Michelle T. Williams has been advised by her medical doctors to take a leave of absence from performing,” the show’s rep said in a statement on Wednesday, December 12. “As a result, the singer/actress will not continue in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Once on This Island. She joined the cast on November 30 in the role of goddess Erzulie and was warmly welcomed back to Broadway and into the show.”
The 38-year-old former Destiny’s Child member’s understudy, Cassondra James, will take over the role until December 26. Lea Salonga will then step in to play Erzulie from December 27 to January 6. The show opened in New York City on December 3, 2017.
Williams announced on her Instagram Story on December 7 that she and Johnson had called off their engagement. “I still remain fearless. I guess I still remain single! Things didn’t work out,” the singer wrote at the time. “The healing that needs to take place is a must! I don’t wanna destroy another relationship. Blessings to him, his family and ministry. #FEARLESS.”
The pastor and the songstress met at one of his retreats in Arizona in March 2017. He proposed one year later.
Williams gushed about why she fell for Johnson in May. “He was able to melt away my insecurities by speaking to places of my heart that no one had been able to speak to before,” she told Us. “Our faith is the same. He treats me with the utmost love and respect. He’s an honest man. I don’t worry about what he’s doing. I can go on and on!”
