Lil Nas X attends the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California ; Lil Nas X in the hospital in April 2025. Photo:
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic ; Lil Nas X/ Instagram
Lil Nas X has always kept it real with his fans — even when it comes to his health.
On April 14, the rapper shared in an Instagram Reel that he was experiencing partial facial paralysis on the right side of his face. Filming from his hospital bed wearing a gown and a Von Dutch cap, Lil Nas X gave his over 10 million followers a glimpse into what he was dealing with.
“This is me doing a full smile right now by the way,” the Grammy-winning musician said in the video, showing how he could only form a smile with the left side of his face. “It’s like what the f—. Bro, I can’t even laugh right, bro. What the f—. Ah! Oh my God.”
Fans were quick to offer their sympathies and theories as to what his diagnosis could be. Many, including actress Holly Robinson Peete, questioned if he was dealing with Bell’s palsy, a nerve condition that can cause temporary facial paralysis, per the Mayo Clinic. Though the cause is unknown, it’s often linked to a viral infection like the flu.
Lil Nas X has not confirmed if he has Bell’s palsy but several other celebrities, like actor Josh Brolin and Bachelorette alum Emily Maynard, have dealt with the condition.
So, what is going on with Lil Nas X’s face? Here’s everything the rapper has said about his partial facial paralysis.
Lil Nas X in the hospital in April 2025. Lil Nas X/ Instagram
In April 2025, Lil Nas X announced in an Instagram Reel that he had been hospitalized for partial facial paralysis. He captioned the video, “Soooo lost control of the right side of my face 😭.”
The rapper continued to document his symptoms on his Instagram Stories and show fans that he was taking it all in stride. In one clip, he laughed and said, “We normal over here. We get crazy over here,” and wrote over the clip, “I’m so cooked 😭😭.”
Lil Nas X followed that video up with a written post on his Instagram Stories that told viewers to “stop being sad” for him and that he would be OK. He also posted a hospital selfie with the caption, “Imma look funny for a lil bit but that’s it.”
Lil Nas X in April 2025. Lil Nas X/ Instagram
The rapper hasn’t revealed many details about his symptoms but did say that he couldn’t move the right side of his face and had trouble smiling and laughing. On April 15, a day after he posted the hospital video, Lil Nas X updated his fans on his Instagram Stories and said that he was “already getting better.”
“Right eye is stubborn,” the musician wrote over the clip, adding that he couldn’t wink with it like he could with his left eye but could now force both of his eyes to shut. He also said that his smile was “getting a lil better.”
Hours later, Lil Nas X posted two videos on his Instagram Stories of him rollerblading shirtless and telling fans that “it’s going to be OK.”
“It’s getting better ya’ll I promise,” the rapper said in one video. “It’s gonna take a lot more than that to keep a bad b—- down.”
Lil Nas X in the hospital in April 2025. Lil Nas X/ Instagram
If Lil Nas X has received a diagnosis, he hasn’t shared it with the public. However, many of his fans believe that he has Bell’s palsy.
In June 2022, Justin Bieber presented with similar symptoms, and his eventual diagnosis was related to Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. According to the University of North Carolina, the syndrome is a “reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus affecting the facial nerve” in people who have had chickenpox.
