Celine Dion speaks about Stiff Person Syndrome’s effect on vocal cords

Celine Dion bravely shared her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), a rare autoimmune disorder she was diagnosed within 2022.

The singer, 56, revealed in a candid interview with Hoda Kotb on The Today Show, how the condition has impacted her vocal cords, forcing her to cancel her Courage World Tour.

“It’s like somebody’s strangling you. It’s like somebody’s pushing your larynx this way,” Dion said, explaining the pressure on her throat.

The My Heart Will Go On singer stated that the illness causes spasms in various parts of her body, and in the past, the pain was so intense that she broke a rib.

“It can be in the abdominal. It can be in the spine, in the ribs. But it feels like if I point my feet, it will stay in it,” Dion explains. “Or if I cook, my fingers or my hands will get in position. It’s cramping, but it’s like you’re in the position of you cannot unlock them.”

While the illness is “chronic and progressive,” Kotb noted to her Today co-anchors that there are medications that can assist in managing it.

The upcoming I Am: Celine Dion docuseries on Prime Video will feature Dion’s health struggle. The first trailer for the docuseries, which follows her remarkable career and subsequent tribulations, was released last month.

I Am: Celine Dion will be available to stream on Prime Video from June 25.