Justin Timberlake Reveals New Lyme Disease Diagnosis
Justin Timberlake (Photo by Andrew H Walker/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Pop Singer Justin Timberlake Has Announced He Has Lyme Disease
Justin Timberlake revealed on Thursday (July 31) that he’s been diagnosed with Lyme disease, describing it as a condition that has been “relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically” during his two-year Forget Tomorrowworld tour.
“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.”
While on tour, Timberlake said he experienced nerve pain, extreme fatigue, and sickness, but chose to keep performing because of how much joy it brought him.
What Is Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is an infection caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It’s spread to humans primarily through the bite of infected black-legged ticks (also known as deer ticks).
According to the Mayo Clinic, if the disease is left untreated, it can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system, causing a range of symptoms.
“A tick bite may look like as a tiny, itchy bump on your skin, much like a mosquito bite. This doesn’t mean you have a tick-borne disease. Many people will not notice they’ve had a tick bite,” the website states.
A rash is a common early sign of Lyme disease, though it doesn’t always appear. When it does, it typically begins as a single red spot at the site of the tick bite and gradually expands. The center may clear, giving it a bull’s-eye or target-like appearance.
Other symptoms, according to the clinic, include neck pain or stiffness, painful swelling in tissues of the eye or eyelid, muscle weakness on one or both sides of the face, amid others.
Other Stars Who Have Battled The Disease
A number of other celebrities have battled Lyme disease and have openly shared their journey through the years.
Country star Shania Twain contracted the disease in 2003 after reportedly getting bitten by a tick while horseback riding.
Twain said the impact Lyme had on her vocal cords went undiagnosed quite some time.
“There were seven years where I could not, for example, yell out for my dog. My voice would just cut out in certain places,” Twain said in 2020. “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.”
Punk rock singer Avril Lavigne also contracted the illness, and wrote a song during her time spent in bed battling it.
The disease, which she contracted from a tick, caused the singer extreme fatigue and a host of other symptoms.
“Music has been more healing than ever for me,” Lavigne says. “I was at a point where I wasn’t sure whether I’d be working or even doing music again, and then I started writing songs from my bedroom. ‘Head Above Water’ and ‘Warrior’ were the first two songs that I wrote, and then they just kept coming. It was cool for me to see because it showed me that music is such a big part of who I am without even thinking about it or trying to make a record.”
