Toni Braxton was told to hide her lupus diagnosis

The legendary Toni Braxton has been brave and vocal about her lupus diagnosis for years, and in a recent interview with podcast, the singer revealed that she was told to hide the diagnosis she received in 2008.

“I was told to hide that I had lupus. For example: “Don’t tell anyone,” the 56-year-old singer said in an interview.

When medical co-host Thais Aliabadi asked who asked Braxton to hide his diagnosis, she replied that it was her management on the time.

“People are afraid of sick celebrities. Nobody has insurance,’ and I could not get insurance,” Braxton recalled.

The “Unbreak My Heart” singer was diagnosed with rheumatologist Daniel Jeffrey Wallace, M.D., who also appeared on the podcast episode.

“I was president of the Lupus Foundation of America and our problem was that we had so many celebrities with lupus, but none of them were coming out,” he revealed.

Other celebrities who’ve shared their lupus diagnosis include Nick Cannon, Seal and rapper Trick Daddy.

“You wouldn’t get the job,” Braxton said of unveiling that you will have lupus as a noteworthy character. “I didn’t get the job at first. Nobody wanted to put me on stage. – Well, suppose she fell on stage? And insurance? How will we do this?” – she said.

During the interview, the Grammy-winning artist took a visit down memory lane, recalling the obstacles she had to undergo to get diagnosed with her disease. She stated that she felt like a “hypochondriac” (someone who worries excessively about her health) before Wallace finally told her what was occurring in her body.

“It takes an average of three and a half years and four different doctors to diagnose non-organ-harming lupus,” Wallace said.

Braxton revealed that she visited “at least” six doctors before getting the diagnosis she ultimately received after falling while performing in Las Vegas. Last yr, Braxton also said she had to undergo emergency heart surgery due to complications from lupus. This happened across the time her sister Traci died of cancer in 2022.

“I told people I didn’t feel well,” she said. “We always try to pretend that we feel great or that we don’t want to worry anyone.”

Braxton concluded her thoughts by emphasizing the importance of speaking out about lupus and spreading the word.

“[It’s] what’s important is that I’m a pioneer and an advocate and I’m telling other people about it and telling my story and hopefully you’ll help someone,” Braxton said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing.”