Celine Dion Gives Gruesome Update in Battle With Stiff Person Syndrome

Celion Dion

Celine Dion is opening up about her ongoing health battle in all-new detail.

The Grammy winner recently sat down with Today's Hoda Kotb to discuss her experience with Stiff Person Syndrome–including what it's been like for the 56-year-old to perform with the neurological autoimmune disorder.

When asked about how the physical effects of the rare condition feel, Dion revealed that singing has become very painful, telling Kotb it feels “like somebody’s strangling you.”

"It’s like somebody’s pushing your larynx, pharynx, this way," the legendary performer went on, demonstrating with her hand by pushing her fingers into her throat. "It’s like you’re talking like that, and you cannot go higher or lower."

She's also experienced severe muscle spasms, which she said are common in those battling the progressive disease, especially in the "abdominal [region], can be in the spine, can be in the ribs."

Describing the spasms, she said, "It feels like if I point my feet, it will stay in [that position]. Or, if I cook — because I love to cook — my fingers, my hands will get in position. It’s cramping, but it’s like in a position of like, you cannot unlock them."

"Sometimes, when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs,” Dion added, noting that she even had "broken ribs at one point."

Dion first went public with her diagnosis in December 2022, and in the year and a half since, she's kept a relatively low profile, only making sporadic public appearances–even canceling a world tour–to focus on her health.

Though she's offered health updates in the past, none appear to have gone as in-depth as her upcoming documentary called I Am: Celine Dion or her interview with Kotb, which is set to air in full on Tuesday, June 11 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

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