Lil Nas X says he is on the mend after being hospitalized earlier this week with partial facial paralysis. Sparking fan concern with video from his hospital bed in which the right side of his face appeared to be frozen, the “Hotbox” MC provided an update on Tuesday (April 15) via an Instagram Story in which he said “I’ve been chewing a lot so I can get this muscle stronger,” pointing to the right side of his mug while wearing a pink shower cap.
“It’s much better, it’s much better,” he assured viewers, adding, “my eye still has to play catch-up. But like, but like I can give a genuine smile, so that’s good. I’m still winkin’ at mothaf–kers, but…. yeah.” To date, Lil Nas has not provided any additional information on what caused the condition or what his prognosis is for a full recovery.
And while the medical issue appeared to throw him off his game a bit, in the next slide he posted a snap of a palm tree and the moon shining on the surf at night, with the caption: “Can’t s–t ruin dreamboy summer. ITS TIMEEE” to the strains of his recent Pharrell-esque pop funk jam “Hotbox.”
The original video detailing the facial freeze found Lil Nas, 26, in his hospital gown laughing at the medical issue, saying “And when I smile? This is me doing a full smile right now by the way,” pointing out that the left side of his mouth was open as the right side sat immobile. “It’s like, what the f–k? I can’t even laugh right, bro. What the f–k?”
That video was captioned, “Soooo lost control of the right side of my face 😭,” with the MC displaying a chipper attitude about the unexpected health issue. In a follow-up Story he provided a close-up video of his face, panning from one side to the other and explaining, “We normal over here, we get crazy over here!,” with the caption, “I’m so cooked [two crying laughing emoji].” In another slide he assured fans, “Guys I am OK!! Stop being sad for me! Shake ur ass for me instead!,” with the final slide offering yet another assurance that things are going to be fine and a photo of the rapper promising, “Imma look funny for a lil bit but that’s it.”
No additional information was available at press time about what caused the paralysis and a spokesperson for Lil Nas had not returned a request for comment.
Fans are awaiting word on a release date for Lil Nas’ Dreamboy LP, the follow-up to his 2021 debut full-length album Montero. Last month he released the 8-track Days Before Dreamboy EP that pulled together his recent run of singles.
