Amy Schumer opened up about her Cushing’s syndrome diagnosis and shared that she wouldn’t have even known about it if it weren’t for internet trolls.
On Jan. 22’s episode of Call Her Daddy, Amy spoke about commenters criticizing her suddenly swollen-looking face. “A year ago, the internet really came for me,” she told host Alex Cooper.
“I was like, ‘Okay, everybody, like, relax,'” she said, at first, but changed her mind when she saw physicians in her comments show concern. “Doctors were chiming in in the comments and they were, like, ‘No, no…something’s really up. Your face looks so crazy.'”
They suggested she might have Cushing’s syndrome. According to the National Institute of Health, Cushing’s occurs when the body “makes too much of the stress hormone cortisol over a long period of time.” Symptoms include weight gain, increased fat around the neck, and a round-looking face called “moon face.” If left untreated, those with the condition can suffer from a stroke or heart attack, along with several other health complications.
“At first, I was like, ‘Fuck off,'” she continued. However, she remembered she was also receiving steroid injections for her breast reduction and C-section scars. “So I got these, was getting these steroid injections, and so it gave me this thing called Cushing syndrome — which I wouldn’t have known if the internet hadn’t come for me so hard.”
She added that she got her official diagnosis in early 2024, right before filming her upcoming movie Kinda Pregnant. “I learned I had this condition and that I had something called moon face, and I’m starring in a movie — and there’s a camera right in my face,” she said.
“Everyone’s like, ‘You look great,'” she said, until one friend finally got honest with her and said, “Your face is looking, like, a little bit insane.”
Amy added that she “got rid” of her Cushing’s and said “it just has to work itself out.”
And luckily, Amy had somebody on set who could hype her up during those moments of insecurity. “I was feeling really down on myself before I started filming this movie. … I was, like, really having trouble figuring out how I was going to star in a movie while I had this going on,” she said. It was her friend and director Lorraine Caffery, who told her, “You know, I think you look fucking great.”
Listen to the full episode here.
