Justin Timberlake revealed this week he had Lyme disease, joining a growing list of celebrities who have gone public with their diagnoses.
The singer, 44, revealed he has been “battling some health issues” and was diagnosed with the bacterial-borne illness in an Instagram post on Thursday, July 31.
“If you’ve experienced this disease or know someone who has — then you’re aware: living with this can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically,” Timberlake wrote. “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.”
Timberlake is one of several A-listers who have shared their struggle with Lyme disease, which humans usually contract from a tick bite.
Here’s a look at other stars who have been diagnosed with Lyme disease.
‘Relentlessly debilitating’: Justin Timberlake reveals Lyme disease diagnosis
Justin Bieber
In January 2020, Justin Bieber revealed on Instagram that he was diagnosed with Lyme disease along with “a serious case of chronic mono.”
“While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like (I’m on) on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease,” he wrote, adding, “not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health.”
He added: “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 NO CAP.”
What is Lyme disease? Justin Timberlake shares ‘debilitating’ diagnosis
Bella, Yolanda and Anwar Hadid
Mother-daughter modeling duo Yolanda and Bella Hadid have both publicly spoken about their diagnoses.
The elder Hadid wrote about her health struggle in her 2017 memoir “Believe Me,” recalling: “As difficult as these past five years have been, I am so grateful that this journey has led to me living in the light.”
Bella, 28, has also been open about the toll the disease can take on the body. Alongside hospital selfies in 2023, the model wrote: “The little me that suffered would be so proud of grown me for not giving up on myself.”
“Thankful to my mommy for keeping all of my medical records, sticking by me, never leaving my side, protecting, supporting, but most of all, believing me through all of this,” she continued.
Anwar Hadid, younger brother to Bella, also suffers from the disease, his mother previously revealed.
At the Global Lyme Alliance inaugural gala in 2015, Yolanda spoke about the stress the illness put on the whole family.
“When my two youngest children, Bella and Anwar, were diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in early 2012, watching my babies struggle in silence in order to support me in my journey, struck the deepest core of hopelessness inside of me,” she said.
Riley Keough
Actress Riley Keough, daughter of Lisa Marie Presley, revealed her Lyme disease diagnosis in an August 2023 interview with Vanity Fair.
The “Daisy Jones & The Six” star also shared that she was undergoing treatment at a “holistic treatment center” that “offers all kinds of things that you can’t really do in America yet, like cleaning your blood.”
In her family life, Keough said her health battle influenced her decision to use a surrogate for her first child, daughter Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen.
“I think it’s a very cool, selfless, and incredible act that these women do to help other people,” Keough said. “I can carry children, but it felt like the best choice for what I had going on physically with the autoimmune stuff.”
Riley Keough talks Lyme disease: Actress opens up about surrogacy
Ryan Sutter
TV personality Ryan Sutter opened up about the debilitating health impacts of his Lyme disease battle during a May 2021 appearance on his wife Trista Sutter’s podcast “Better Etc.”
“My body would just itch for no reason, severe headaches, swollen lymph nodes, nausea, night sweats, fevers, really deep bone aches and muscle aches and joint aches, periods of extreme fatigue, almost paralyzing fatigue,” said Sutter, who was frequently exposed to mold toxins in his work as a firefighter.
“The Bachelorette” alum added, “It seems like something that I will always have. It’s just that now I know, and I will try to build back my immune system to fight it off.”
Avril Lavigne
Pop punk princess Avril Lavigne has been vocal about her life-threatening battle with Lyme disease.
The illness, which she says she contracted from a tick, caused her extreme fatigue and joint pain, leaving the singer bedridden for months.
In an interview with USA TODAY in February 2019, she recalled a particular night during that period — lying in bed with her mom, feeling weak and convinced she was dying — that inspired her to write her song “Head Above Water.”
Shania Twain
Country music icon Shania Twain contracted Lyme disease in 2003 after getting bitten by a tick while horseback riding. While her diagnosis wasn’t immediately clear, Twain said the disease’s impact on her vocal cords served as a red flag.
“There were seven years where I could not, for example, yell out for my dog. My voice would just cut out in certain places,” said Twain during a 2020 appearance on “The View.” “It took another several years to determine what it was. … Nobody connected the Lyme disease to it. In the end, a neurologist finally worked out that it was the nerve to each vocal cord.”
Shania Twain interview: The country queen talks throat surgery, set list and liquid diets
Although she had to undergo open-throat surgery to repair her vocal cords, the Grammy-winning singer reflected that the disease’s toll could have been far worse.
“It was just a very unfortunate, ironic problem since I’m a singer, but I feel so grateful and so lucky that it didn’t attack somewhere else because it’s so debilitating,” Twain added. “I have a different voice now, but I own it. I love my voice now.”
Amy Schumer
In September 2020, actress and comedian Amy Schumer shared with fans online that she’d been living with Lyme disease.
“Anyone get LYME this summer? I got it and I’m on doxycycline,” wrote Schumer in an Instagram post. “I have maybe had it for years.”
Although Schumer assured her followers that she felt “good,” she asked for “any advice” to “get rid of it” and treat her illness, such as, “Can you have a glass of wine or 2 on (doxycycline)?”
Contributing: Patrick Ryan, Charles Trepany and Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Celebs who’ve had Lyme disease: Justin Timberlake, Shania Twain, more
