Carlos Santana Faces Backlash After Telling Red Rocks Crowd ‘Grievances Cause Cancer’

Carlos Santana is under fire after telling concertgoers at Red Rocks in Colorado that unresolved grievances cause cancer and that forgiveness can keep the disease at bay. The guitarist made the remarks during his August 24, 2026 performance as part of his “Oneness Tour,” and clips of the comments have since spread widely on social media.

Speaking to the crowd, Santana said, “If you wanna make sure that in your life you never have cancer, it’s important that you remember this: Grievances causes cancer. So it’s important that you let it go and forgive. Let go of that shit. Let it go. And you will be clean. I promise you. You will be clean.” He went on to say, without identifying anyone by name, that “a specialist on cancer… he said he never met anyone that had cancer that didn’t have grievances.”

• The comments were made during a show at Red Rocks in Colorado on August 24, 2026.
• Video of the moment circulated on social media in the days that followed.
• Santana’s tour is scheduled to pick back up on September 12, 2026, with two shows at the Santa Barbara Bowl in California.

How Fans and Cancer Organizations Responded

Reaction online was swift, with many fans and social media users, including a wave of posts on Reddit, arguing that Santana’s framing amounted to victim-blaming toward people diagnosed with cancer. Not everyone in attendance shared that view in the moment, as video from the show showed portions of the crowd clapping and cheering when Santana delivered the remarks.

Major cancer research organizations directly contradict the idea that emotional grievances or stress lead to cancer. Cancer Research UK points to a study of more than 100,000 women in the United Kingdom that found no connection between stress and breast cancer risk, along with a separate European study of over 100,000 people that turned up no link between stress and the risk of common cancers. The American Cancer Society similarly states that existing research has not established that a person’s personality, thoughts, or emotions cause the disease.

Has Santana Addressed the Backlash?

As of the latest reporting, Santana had not offered any further explanation of his remarks or responded publicly to the criticism circulating online. This is not the first time the guitarist has drawn public criticism for off-the-cuff comments; he apologized in 2017 after facing backlash over remarks he made about Beyoncé.

More Info

• Carlos Santana Shares Cure For Cancer | Stereogum
• Carlos Santana Thinks He Knows Why People Get Cancer | Consequence
• Carlos Santana makes bizarre cancer claim at Red Rocks | Far Out Magazine