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Upon the conclusion of his tour, Justin Timberlake shared he’s been diagnosed with Lyme Disease: “I don’t say so you feel bad for me –– but to shed some light on what I’ve been up against behind the scenes.[…]living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically. When I first got the diagnosis I was shocked for sure. But, at least I could understand why I would be onstage and in a massive amount of nerve pain or, just feeling crazy fatigue or sickness. I was faced with a personal decision. Stop touring? Or, keep going and figure it out. I decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling. […] Sharing all of this with the hope that we can all find a way to be more connected. I’d like to do my part to help others experiencing this disease too.”
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Back in 2016 at the Global Lyme Alliance, Bella spoke out about losing her ability to horseback ride because of the disease and spending days not wanting to get out of bed due to “bone pains and exhaustion.” She admitted that after years of struggle, she had simply gotten used to “living with the sickness” instead of continuing to look for a cure. But in 2023, that all changed for Bella. After 15 years of dealing with Lyme disease, Bella found a treatment that worked for her and said she was finally feeling healthy for the first time in years.
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Yolanda Hadid was diagnosed Lyme disease in 2012. She traveled around the world in the hopes of finding a treatment that would be a cure, and while she was able to achieve remission after years of treatment, she learned she was facing another flare up in 2018 — around the time she released her book, “Believe Me: My Battle with the Invisible Disability of Lyme Disease.” In a 2015 speech, she said “I honestly don’t have the proper words in my vocabulary to describe to you the darkness, the pain, and the unknown hell I’ve lived these past years. I actually did not live. […]. Many nights I wish to die. I pray that I will just wash away into heaven, where there will be no pain.” However, In 2021, Yolanda shared that she was in remission once again and was feeling better than she’d “been in a long time.”
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In early 2020, Justin Bieber revealed that he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease after struggling with health issues for several years. In an Instagram post, he explained that while many people thought he was on drugs, he was actually dealing with the disease as well as a serious case of chronic mono that affected his “skin, brain function, energy and overall health.”
He wrote, “It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.”
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Hailey Bieber revealed she’s had Lyme Disease before. Although she did not go into detail about her experience, she shared the importance of dealing with health issues. She said on a Going for the Goal podcast, “Lyme disease is an interesting thing because a lot of people don’t believe it’s real, and a lot of people think it’s BS. But I’ve had it before, I’ve dealt with it. My husband has it and deals with it very deeply. I think it’s about finding the right doctors who believe in getting to the bottom of any health issues that you might have.”
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Avril Lavigne was forced to leave the spotlight for years while dealing with Lyme disease. After being bitten by a tick in 2014, she began to struggle with symptoms and spent months trying to get a diagnosis. When it was finally discovered she had Lyme disease, Avril says she was in “bed for f–king two years” recovering. “I had accepted that I was dying,” she told Billboard. “And I felt in that moment like I was underwater and drowning, and I was trying to come up to gasp for air. And literally under my breath, I was like, ‘God, help me keep my head above the water?’” That moment was the inspiration for Avril’s song “Head Above Water,” which she released after her two-year hiatus. She now advocates for others with the disease and raises funds through the Avril Lavigne Foundation.
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In 2023, Riley Keough revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme disease, and that it was one of the reasons she chose surrogacy to welcome her daughter. Riley added that during some time off from acting, she had checked into a holistic treatment center in Sweden to help her deal with symptoms. She told Vanity Fair, “I have Lyme disease. I used this little break that I have to come and try and see if I can alleviate it a bit. It’s a holistic treatment center and offers all kinds of things that you can’t really do in America yet, like cleaning your blood.”
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Amy Schumer was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2020. In an Instagram post, she revealed that she was undergoing treatment but had potentially had the disease for years before getting diagnosed: “I have maybe had it for years. Any advice? I know to stay out of the sun. I’m also taking these herbs from cape cod called lyme-2. Please comment or text me on my number in my bio. I also want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”
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Shania Twain has been dealing with Lyme disease since 2003 after getting bit by a tick while horseback riding. She immediately began to experience symptoms, but it took seven years to truly figure out why her vocals were changing and fading. Shania was finally diagnosed with dysphonia, a neurological disorder of the vocal cords, which she attributes to Lyme disease. In a documentary, she explained, “My symptoms were quite scary because before I was diagnosed, I was on stage very dizzy. I was losing my balance, I was afraid I was gonna fall off the stage. I was having these very, very, very millisecond blackouts, but regularly, every minute or every 30 seconds.” But after two open-throat surgeries and much physical therapy, Shania was able to regain her voice, release songs and perform.
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In March 2020, Real Housewife Ramona Singer revealed that she had been diagnosed with Lyme Disease. She shared that things had luckily been caught early and she was able to receive treatment right away. She told E! News, “You must get tested once a year, especially if you’re in an area where there are deer. But, we caught it early and I’m very lucky and very blessed.”
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Ben Stiller opened up about his Lyme disease diagnosis in 2010, explaining that he had been dealing with the disease for several years. While he shared he was “symptom-free” at the time, he noted that Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system. He told The Hollywood Reporter, “I got it in Nantucket, Mass., a couple of years ago. My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme. I’m symptom-free now, but Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system. It’s a really tough thing.”
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Kelly Osbourne had Lyme disease for years before she received a diagnosis. She explained that in 2004, she was bitten by a tick at a reindeer sanctuary in her family’s backyard. She began to experience symptoms but doctors kept prescribing her medication — even though she suspected she was suffering from Lyme disease. It wasn’t until she went to an alternative medicine specialist that she was tested for Lyme. She then received stem cell treatment in Germany. She wrote in her book, “The doctors kept changing my prescription, trying to get the dosage right, and it turned me into a zombie. You know in movies where a mental patient sits in a rocking chair in a cardigan and nightgown and stares at a wall all day? That was me. I had started entering my symptoms into online quizzes, and the results kept coming back Lyme disease. I got tested. The results were positive: I had stage III neurological Lyme disease. I was relieved to finally know what was going on, but I was also scared s–tless.”
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In 2017, Mark Ruffalo revealed that he had Lyme disease, warning others about the upcoming tick season. While he hasn’t shared much about his treatment, he did later encourage his followers to watch the documentary, The Quiet Epidemic, which he called a powerful “exposé about the hidden epidemic of Lyme disease and our for-profit healthcare system.” He wrote, “From personal experience, Lyme disease can be brutal, persistent, and misdiagnosed. The healthcare industry is way behind on this disease.”
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Alec Baldwin first opened up about his Lyme disease diagnosis in 2011, but it wasn’t until 2017 that he explained that he had been bitten twice by ticks nearly two decades prior. He shared that he began to experience debilitating symptoms and at one point, thought he was going to die. During a benefit, he shared, “I got the classic Lyme disease [symptoms] for each successive summer, for five years, every August, like this black lung, flu-like symptoms, sweating to death in my bed. The first round [was the worst], and then it diminished, at least that’s how I perceived it. I really thought this is it […] I was lying in bed saying, ‘I’m going to die of Lyme disease’ in my bed and ‘I hope someone finds me and I’m not here for too long.'”
Now that Alec is doing better, he says he remains very vigilant in making sure his children are not bitten by ticks.
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