Lily Collins honors dad Phil Collins at his last concert with Genesis: 'An event I shall hold in my heart forever'
Lily Collins is proud to honor her father Phil Collins as he says goodbye to performing with his band, Genesis.
On Instagram, the Emily in Paris star, 33, shared behind-the-scenes footage from the band's London performance on Saturday evening.
"Tonite marks the end of an era. To have witnessed this last show was truly the memory of a lifetime and an event I shall hold in my heart forever. Endlessly grateful doesn’t begin to do it justice. So much love was left on that O2 stage and an even bigger amount shared between an audience who didn’t want it to end," said Collins, who was pictured sitting on a piece of the band's equipment backstage.
Collins continued, explaining how proud she is of both her father, whom she called an "inspiration," and her brother Nic, who performs with the band.
"Thank you [Genesis] for the memories, thank you Dad for being such an inspiration and thank you [Nic] for making me the proudest sister there is. 50 years of songs later and still generations more to celebrate you long after this tour has finished," the Windfall star wrote.
In a video Collins posted from the concert, Phil can be see playing the tambourine for the large crowd, and riling up fans while waving his hands in the air. Collins has spoken openly about his inability to play the drums any longer due to health problems, and his need to sit down while providing vocals on tour. In an interview with BBC Breakfast back in September, the 71-year-old star explained that he wishes he could still perform, because it would mean taking the stage with Nic, Yahoo Entertainment previously reported. However, now that he and Genesis bandmates Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford are "all men of our age," they recognized they were nearing the end of the road of their touring career.
In recent years, Lily has spoken openly about her relationship with her father. Back in January on Phil's 71st birthday, she shared a throwback photo on Instagram of herself as an infant sitting on her dad's shoulders. Speaking about their deep connection, Lily thanked her dad "for inspiring me and supporting the woman I am today."
"Happy birthday, Dad. I may no longer fit in your arms or sit comfortably on your shoulders but you continue to hug me tightly when I need it most. We may not get to spend time together that often but when we are face to face, you really do see me," she wrote. "You may not always believe it but please trust me when I say, no matter how old I get or what life may bring, I will always need you. Whether I’m proudly watching you up on stage, laughing at home together playing Trivial Pursuit, I’m forever grateful for the moments and memories we share. Especially the ones I now cherish as an adult myself ... I love you to the moon and back again …"
The father and daughter have had a complex relationship in the past. In her 2017 biography, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, Lily forgave her dad for any troubled feelings she harbored in the past.
"Because my dad was often gone, I never wanted to do anything that would make him stay away even longer," Collins wrote in the chapter titled "A Letter to All Dads," Billboard reported at the time. "I became extra careful about what I said and how I said it, afraid he'd think I was angry or didn't love him. And the truth is, I was angry. I missed him and wanted him there."
Sharing that some of her "deepest insecurities stem from these issues with my dad," Collins, who has suffered from eating disorders, said it had taken her "over a decade to resolve some of them."
