Celine Dion is giving fans a glimpse of her struggle with stiff person syndrome, a rare autoimmune disease the singer was diagnosed with in 2022 that causes progressive stiffness and severe muscle spasms.
The "My Heart Will Go On" singer insisted on showing footage of herself suffering a seizure in her new documentary I Am: Celine Dion, which premiered June 25 on Prime Video.
The clip, which you can view here, shows Dion suffering a 10-minute seizure as she gasps for breath and her body convulses alongside medical professionals.
I Am: Celine Dion director Irene Taylor spoke with the New York Times about Dion's decision to include the footage in the documentary.
"I could just see this stiffness that was not like the flowing, lithe dancer that I had been filming for several months doing her physical therapy," Taylor said about the moment she realized Dion was facing a health crisis. "Within a couple of minutes, she was moaning in pain."
Taylor added, "I was very panicked. I was looking around the room, and I saw that her therapist called for her head of security. Her bodyguard immediately came into the room. I could see right away these two men were there to take care of her and they were trained to do it."
Dion spoke about her disease in an Instagram video last year.
"The spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to," Dion said. "I have to admit it's been a struggle. All I know is singing, it's what I've done all my life."
