How celebrities sharing illnesses affects public perception, awareness and understanding
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
By Ariahna Santiago and Hajar Aboueddahab
April 16, 2026
Youthcast Media Group®
Celebrities often use their platforms to promote projects, partnerships, and brands. But when they speak openly about their own health struggles, that influence can take on a different role in shaping public perception and increasing awareness of serious conditions.
Former Maryland Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein, now vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that these disclosures can have a meaningful impact.
“I think there are some very good examples of celebrities who have disclosed their conditions, and it leads to a lot of interest in what happened to them,” said Sharfstein, co-author of the book Information Sick- How Journalism's Decline and Misinformation's Rise Are Harming Our Health—and What We Can Do About It.
When celebrities share their experiences with illness, they can significantly influence public perceptions of health conditions. A 2022 study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that such disclosures help reduce stigma and encourage people to seek help.
Nevertheless, many health conditions remain stigmatized and shaped by negative societal attitudes that can lead to isolation or discrimination for those affected.
“There’s a lot of stigma around different conditions, especially mental health and addiction, but it extends beyond that,” said Sharfstein.
Stigma can make people feel ashamed of their diagnosis and less likely to seek help or talk openly about their illnesses.
“People don’t like talking about infertility. People don’t like talking about certain kinds of cancer, infectious diseases like HIV,” said Sharfstein.
When stigma surrounds a serious illness, celebrities can help break it down. Sharing their own diagnoses with wide audiences can help raise awareness of diseases that sometimes go unnoticed.
“People may go out and get screened for the disease who wouldn’t have otherwise, or they may think differently about the condition,” said Sharfstein.
Singer and actress Selena Gomez drew widespread public attention when she revealed to her 126 million Instagram followers that she had been diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease.
Her post quickly spread across social media and news outlets, sparking conversations about the condition.
Gomez talked openly about her condition on an NBC News interview, explaining the complications of her illness that made it necessary to have a kidney transplant.
According to the Lupus Foundation of America, lupus affects about 1.5 million Americans and at least 5 million people worldwide. Yet for some, Gomez's disclosure was their first introduction to the condition.
“I heard of lupus from Selena Gomez,” said Anthony Jones, a junior at Annandale High School in Annandale, Va.
“I don't know much about it, but I know Gomez deals with it. There's not much I know about lupus, but I heard that people who have it most likely struggle a lot with it,” he added.
Other celebrities have also used their social platforms to address personal health challenges. Singer Justin Timberlake recently disclosed his diagnosis of Lyme disease, a bacterial infection transmitted to humans by ticks.
Timberlake said his decision to speak publicly about his diagnosis was to clarify the challenges he had been facing privately, rather than to elicit sympathy.
“Not so you feel bad for me, but to shed some light on what I've been up against behind the scenes,” Timberlake said in a social media statement.
“I think it is very brave of them. They really trust the public eye and won't abuse their struggle to make a profit off of it,” said Kevin Rodriguez Ortega, a junior at Annandale High School.
Celebrity disclosures can help raise awareness of lesser-known medical conditions. Actress Catherine O’Hara, who died earlier this year at age 71, revealed in a 2020 interview with Virtual Happy Hour that she had dextrocardia with situs inversus, a rare genetic condition in which the heart and other organs are located on the opposite side of the body. She referred to herself as a "freak."
O’Hara explained that she discovered the condition during tuberculosis testing with her husband. After routine exams, including an EKG, the medical staff informed her that she needed a different machine, and a doctor then ordered an X-ray.
A representative for O’Hara told Rolling Stone that she died at her Los Angeles home following a brief illness. The cause was a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in the lungs that led to a heart attack. Rectal cancer was identified as the underlying cause, though her diagnosis had not been disclosed prior to her death.
“I don't think it's good that that celebrity has that condition, but I think it could be good if the celebrity is known and could bring awareness to that condition,” said Annie Doa, a junior at Annandale High School.
While celebrity health disclosures can increase awareness, experts raise concerns about where people get their medical information.
Data from the NORC at the University of Chicago show how social media can influence people's medical decision-making. Nearly 70% of health providers said patients had asked questions about a medication they had seen on social media, and 61% reported prescribing those medications.
Experts say that the level of influence can be significant when celebrities or influencers share personal health experiences, but it can also be risky when information is incomplete or inaccurate.
“Celebrities that have been outspoken, saying that vaccines cause autism, and you know, there really is no evidence that supports that, but they get a lot of media attention for talking about that topic, and that can discourage people from vaccinating their children and put their children at higher risk for conditions like measles,” said Sharfstein.
Sharfstein said that social media blurs the line between accurate information and misinformation or personal opinions, making it difficult for users to distinguish reliable medical guidance from misleading content.
“If celebrities are saying things that keep people from getting the effective treatment, that's not good,” he said. “That would be misinformation that really hurts people.”
Because of their outsized influence, celebrities have a lot of responsibility to share accurate information, Sharfstein said, and often do best when partnered with medical societies or organizations that can help share accurate information.
“A great example would be Michael J. Fox and the Parkinson's Disease Association. He works very closely with them, and he certainly has done so much to increase awareness about Parkinson's disease.”
Gomez has done similar work raising awareness through a partnership with the Lupus Research Alliance, and Nick Jonas started his own non-profit, Beyond Type 1, to help support people living with diabetes.
Whether the information is coming from a celebrity or anyone else, experts recommend caution when using social media for medical advice.
“Social media includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s probably a good idea not to get all of your information from celebrities on social media,” Sharfstein said.
Ariahna Santiago is a junior at Annandale High School, one of Youthcast Media Group’s journalism class partners. She worked with Prince William County-based journalist and YMG instructor Hajar Aboueddahab on this story.