Justin Bieber Reveals Ramsay Hunt Syndrome Has Left Half of His Face Paralyzed

Justin Bieber is currently recovering from a virus that has caused paralysis on one side of his face.

The pop star took to Instagram to share this news with his fans, revealing that he has Ramsay Hunt syndrome. According to the Mayo Clinic, Ramsay Hunt syndrome “occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near one of your ears” and can result in facial paralysis as well as hearing loss. 

“Hey everyone, Justin here. I wanted to update you guys on what’s been going on,” Bieber began his video, which was posted on Instagram on June 10. “Obviously, as you can probably see from my face, I have this syndrome called Ramsay Hunt syndrome and it is from this virus that attacks the nerve in my ear, my facial nerves, and has caused my face to have paralysis.”

In the video Justin demonstrated that he could not blink with one eye, nor can he smile on the same side of his face, or move that nostril. He asked fans for patience while he takes a break from his current tour to recover. “For those who are frustrated by my cancellations of the next shows, I’m just physically obviously not capable of doing them,” he said. “This is pretty serious. As you can see. I wish this wasn’t the case but, obviously, my body’s telling me I got to slow down. And I hope you guys understand and I’ll be using this time to just rest and relax and get back to 100% so that I can do what I was born to do. But in the meantime, this ain’t it. I gotta go get my rest on so that I can get my face back to where it’s supposed to be.”

Justin Bieber concluded his message with a positive outlook. “I love you guys. Thanks for being patient with me. And I’m gonna get better,” he said. “And I’m doing all these facial exercises to get my face back to normal, and it will go back to normal. It’s just time, and we don’t know how much time that’s gonna be, but it’s gonna be okay and I have hope and I trust God. And I trust that this is all gonna—it’s all for a reason. I’m not sure what that is right now, but in the meantime, I’m going to rest and I love you guys. Peace.”