Halsey has been candid about their struggles with a litany of health issues in the past, from endometriosis and postural tachycardia syndrome to repeat anaphylactic episodes and miscarriages. On Wednesday, the singer revealed that they were diagnosed with lupus, the chronic disease that provokes the body’s immune system to attack healthy tissue, and a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder — part of a group of diseases marked by the uncontrolled production of white-blood cells, potentially leading to lymphoma or leukemia — in 2022. In an Instagram post thanking fans for supporting their new single “The End,” Halsey explained that the conditions are likely lifelong and are either in remission or being managed. “After 2 years, I’m feeling better and I’m more grateful than ever to have music to turn to,” they wrote. “I can’t wait to get back where I belong: With you all.”
News of Halsey’s diagnosis comes a day after the singer posted a series of videos on Instagram announcing their upcoming fifth album alluding to a yearslong health battle. The selfie videos show Halsey receiving what appear to be IV infusions, resting at a handful of doctor’s appointments, and dealing with chronic pain at home. “Long story short, I’m lucky to be alive,” they write in the caption. “Short story long, I wrote an album.”
“I feel like an old lady,” Halsey says in the first video of the bunch, gritting their teeth through leg pain. “I told myself I’m giving myself two more years to be sick. At 30, I’m having a rebirth and I’m not gonna be sick, and I’m gonna look super hot and have lots of energy and I’m just gonna get to re-do my 20s in my 30s.”
Halsey released “The End,” an acoustic track detailing their struggles with chronic illness, as part of the album announcement. “Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick / Pulls out a brand-new bag of tricks / And then they lay it on me / And at first, it was my brain, then a skeleton in pain,” they sing on the ballad. Halsey also calls themself “damaged goods” on the track and makes repeated references to their dwindling race “against time.” Halsey tagged the Lupus Research Alliance and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Tuesday’s post. In a release sent to the AP, they announced that they had made a donation to both organizations in tandem with the release of their latest single.
As Halsey revealed several years ago, they have dealt with various autoimmune issues for most of their life. The birth of their son Ender in 2021 — whom they share with ex Alev Aydin — seemed to aggravate those issues, leading to additional diagnoses of the hereditary disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome, and the autoimmune disease Sjögren’s syndrome. Still, Halsey called Ender’s birth a “rare and euphoric” experience and has continued to make music throughout their “100,000” doctor’s appointments.
This post has been updated.
