Amy Schumer reveals she has Cushing’s syndrome: ‘We never know what is going on with someone’

Women’s appearances are still, in 2024, an object of scrutiny. This is especially true for women who are famous and in the public eye. After two decades in the entertainment business, Amy Schumer, 42, knows this well. Now, after being attacked once again for her looks, she has come out and talked about the reasons for her physical changes. Schumer explained that it is all due to a disease called Cushing’s syndrome. And she has also asked, with typical humor, for an end to the rampant attacks against women.

Cushing’s syndrome is also called hypercortisolism because it effectively means an excess of cortisol in the body. It is a hormonal disorder and, in Schumer’s case, is temporary and caused by taking the steroid injections she is prescribed. Schumer previously revealed that she suffers from endometriosis and, although she had intended to keep the diagnosis of this new syndrome to herself, she was forced to make an announcement due to all the negative feedback.

Schumer has been appearing on various talk shows to promote the new season of her TV show Life & Beth, which she created, wrote and stars in alongside actor Michael Cera. In these interviews, the actress appeared noticeably different, with a rounder face, and received many comments about the change. On February 15, she decided to address the comments in a post to her 13 million followers on Instagram.

“Thank you so much for everyone’s input about my face! I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance as all women do for almost 20 years,” she wrote. “And you’re right it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis an auto immune disease that every woman should read about. There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay.”

She continued: “I also believe a woman doesn’t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation. But I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self love and acceptance of the skin you’re in. Like every other women/person some days I feel confident and good as hell and others I want to put a bag over my head. But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud of this TV show I created. Wrote. Starred in and directed. Maybe just maybe we can focus on that for a little.”

At that point, Schumer decided not to reveal her diagnosis. This happened on Monday, when she told the “News Not Noise” newsletter run by journalist Jessica Yellin — who was CNN’s correspondent in the White House — that she had Cushing’s syndrome. The journalist and the actress have a good relationship, and in fact, a few years ago Schumer also announced in Yellin’s newsletter that she was pregnant with her first child, and suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum.

“Like many of you I was horrified by the way some people attacked her appearance after an interview about her Hulu show Life & Beth on The Tonight Show earlier this month,” said Yellin in her newsletter. “The trolling was cruel, gratuitous and misogynist. No one should have to defend themselves for living in a body that doesn’t meet someone else’s aesthetic preferences,” she added, explaining that she decided to reach out to Schumer to see whether she wanted to again share her story.

Schumer agreed, telling the newsletter that she has Cushing’s syndrome due to steroid injections. The symptoms include facial changes, like a round or puffy face, weight gain, increased fat around shoulders and headaches, back and bone pain, as well as anxiety and extreme fatigue. “Last time I announced with you that I was pregnant. This time I’m announcing with you that I’m not pregnant,” Schumer joked in the letter.

“I feel reborn,” the actress told Yellin. “There are a few types of Cushing. Some that can be fatal, require brain surgery or removal of adrenal glands. While I was doing press on camera for my Hulu show, I was also in MRI machines four hours at a time, having my veins shut down from the amount of blood drawn and thinking I may not be around to see my son grow up,” added Schumer, who has a five-year-old son. “So finding out I have the kind of Cushing that will just work itself out and I’m healthy was the greatest news imaginable. It has been a crazy couple weeks for me and my family. Aside from fears about my health, I also had to be on camera having the internet chime in. But thank God for that. Because that’s how I realized something was wrong. Just like when I realized I had named my son something that didn’t sound so good. The internet is undefeated, as they say.”

Although she does not have to share her medical history with the public, Schumer said she wanted to “to advocate for women’s health.” “The shaming and criticism of our ever-changing bodies is something I have dealt with and witnessed for a long time. I want so much for women to love themselves and be relentless when fighting for their own health in a system that usually doesn’t believe them,” she said.

Schumer added that she feels very privileged to have the resources available to address her health issues, which not everyone has. “I am grateful and want to use my voice to continue to fight for women,” she added. “The only other thing I’d like to add is that this is a good example of the fact that we never know what is going on with someone. Everyone is struggling with something. Maybe we can all be a little kinder to each other and ourselves.”

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