Despite rarely reported, there’s a disease seemingly taking hold of Hollywood.
While it isn’t spreading in the zombie-like biting style, or transmitted like Covid-19, countless A-listers have been knocked down by the condition.
One particular disease seems to be prevalent among celebs (Poike/Getty)
We are, of course, talking about Lyme disease – a bacterial infection spread to humans following an infection caused by a tick bite.
The Centre of Disease Control and Prevention estimates that a staggering 476,000 Americans may contract the disease each year.
The NHS says the disease refers to the aftermath of an infection and the symptoms they cause, as opposed to the infection itself.
It generally presents itself in a similar way to that of the flu, with high temperatures, a headache, muscle and joint pain, fatigue and a loss of energy being the most common consequences of infection.
Asked why it’s particularly prevalent in the celebrity realm, Professor Paul Hunter previously told the MailOnline that it could be due to the increased leisure time that comes with being a star, as well as their access to travel and the outdoors.
As such, they’re naturally more like to endure an encounter with a tick.
“If there is a rich and famous or class bias in this, it’s probably because they spend more time walking around in wooded parkland, more money to go out to those areas, or have big homes with these sorts of places,” he added.
But exactly which big-names have received a diagnosis?
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber was diagnosed in 2020 (Gotham/GC Images)
Fans were devastated to hear that the ‘Baby’ singer would be taking a break from the music industry back in 2020 following a diagnosis of Lyme disease.
In the months prior to the announcement, Bieber came under vast health speculation after fans noticed his facial appearance had somewhat altered as a result of the swelling.
“While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s**t, on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health,” he later wrote in an Instagram post.
“It’s been a rough couple years but [I’m] getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.”
Bella Hadid
Bella Hadid was diagnosed as a teenager (Victor Boyko/Getty Images)
Along with her ‘momager’ mother Yolanda, international supermodel Bella Hadid contracted the Lyme disease back in 2012, when she was just 16 years old.
Reported by Elle in the years to follow, Bella first began experiencing symptoms associated with the disease, like difficulty walking and joint pain, before enduring severe nausea.
And apparently, she still bares some of the brunt of the disease some years on, including fatigue and swelling – which she shared in a health document on Instagram.
So much so, that in a TikTok posted earlier this year, Hadid claimed she often hates ‘looking in the mirror or taking pictures’.
Shania Twain
Shania Twain was bitten by a tick while horse-riding (Disney/Eric McCandless)
The country music star came down with the condition 21 years ago, after being bitten by a tick while horse-riding.
Reflecting on her diagnosis on her 2023 Netflix documentary Not Just A Girl, the ‘Man, I Feel Like a Woman’ hitmaker admitted: “My symptoms were quite scary because before I was diagnosed, I was on stage very dizzy.
“I was losing my balance, I was afraid I was gonna fall off the stage… I was having these very, very, very millisecond blackouts, but regularly, every minute or every 30 seconds.”
The disease also affected her voice, leading the chart-topper to temporarily fear she’d never sing again.
Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne said Lyme disease left her bed-bound for two years (Michael Loccisano/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
The ‘Sk8er Boi’ singer suffered such severe symptoms of the disease after being diagnosed back in 2014 following her 30th birthday, that she later claimed she was left bed-bound for around two years.
Speaking to Billboard magazine four years later, Lavigne claimed she still battled the prolonged symptoms on a daily basis.
“I’m achy, I’m fatigued, I cannot get the f**k out of bed – what the f**k is wrong with me?” she said.
Revealing it actually took several months for doctors to officially make their diagnosis – being that some symptoms are reminiscent of other, more common illnesses – she said she only felt comfortable to perform again in 2018.
She wrote on her personal website that year: “Having gone through the battle of my lifetime, I’m stronger than ever and looking forward to sharing my renewed voice and energy for my life with my fans through this new music.”
Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin said Lyme disease changed his life forever (Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)
Over 20 years ago, the actor broke the news that he’d been bitten by a tick and subsequently diagnosed with the disease, which – in 2021 – he claimed left him bedridden.
Recalling the incident which changed his life forever, the Beetlejuice actor said in a podcast interview: “August of one summer I was standing on my friend’s porch at night, and it was a cool evening – it wasn’t a hot, steamy evening – and I felt literally this wave go over my back and over my shoulders and kind of wrap around me like a chill.
“And I got just attacked. It came like someone snapped their fingers and put a spell on me.”
Though he said the cold sweats he endured in the years that followed have somewhat subsided, at the time, Baldwin admitted that he still battles ‘inexplicable’ joint pain on a daily basis.
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne went undiagnosed for several years (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Live Nation)
The UK socialite fought the undiagnosed disease for several years, often relying on painkillers to get through the way.
It was only when her symptoms escalated to include a seizure in 2013 that a practitioner diagnosed her with ‘stage 3 neurological Lyme disease’.
According to her 2017 memoir, There Is No F*cking Secret, Kelly found the news to be bittersweet.
“I was relieved to finally know what was going on,” she confessed. “But I was also scared s**tless.”
The star has since gone on to receive stem cell therapy, in the hope that the treatment will ‘strengthen my immune system so my body could fight off and get rid of the disease on its own’.
Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller was bitten by a tick while on holiday (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
The Night At The Museum actor first spoke of his condition back in 2011, claiming he contracted the condition while holidaying in Nantucket in the years prior.
“My knee became inflamed and they couldn’t figure out what it was, then they found out it was Lyme,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time.
“I’m symptom-free now, but Lyme doesn’t ever leave your system. It’s a really tough thing.”
Amy Schumer
Amy Schumer was diagnosed in 2020 (Dimitrios Kambouris/Variety via Getty Images)
The much-loved comedian broke the news of her diagnosis via Instagram in 2020, asking her followers: “Anyone get LYME this summer?”
Schumer went on to reveal: “I got it and I’m on doxycycline. I have maybe had it for years. Any advice? Can you have a glass of wine or 2 on it?
“I want to say that I feel good and am excited to get rid of it.”
Who else?
As we say, countless other stars have opened up about their terrifying health battles in recent years.
Real Housewives of New York City star Ramona Singer claimed in 2020 that she was ‘very lucky and very blessed’ to have caught the condition early, and was able to start immediate treatment.
Independent film actor Parker Posey’s Lyme disease symptoms reached such an extent following her 2009 diagnosis that she was forced to withdraw from a pretty impressive starring movie role as a result – though she now claims holistic interventions had assisted in her recovery.
