Céline Dion Talks of Struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome

When singer Céline Dion tries to sing, it feels “like somebody is strangling you.”

That’s how Dion has described her physical condition since having stiff person syndrome.

Dion spoke exclusively with NBC’s 📺Hoda Kotb in an interview that will be aired at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday on NBC.

“It’s like someone is pushing your larynx, pharynx,” she said. “And you can’t go high or lower. It gets into a spasm.”

But her voice was just one part that is affected.

The spasms she’s endured have also broken ribs, she said.

It also shows up in the abdomen, spine, feet and hands.

In the interview preview, she specifically spoke of her hands and feet, which get in “a position of, like, you cannot unlock them.”

Dion announced her diagnosis in December 2022, per NBC News.

She ended up canceling her European tour in 2023, due to health issues.

The rare disease causes people to have rigid torso and limbs and severe muscle spasms.

The spasms can be random or can be set off by loud noises and emotional distress.

In February, Dion received a standing ovationat the Grammys when she present the album of the year award.

After showing a brief clip of a concert Dion gave at the plaza years ago, Kotb said Dion was struggling then.

“As far back as 2016, Céline knew there was something wrong with her physically, but she didn’t know what it was,” Kotb said.