Stevie Wonder breaks silence on longtime rumor he's not really blind: 'That was a blessing'

CARDIFF, WALES: Stevie Wonder shut down a persistent conspiracy theory in his own words, addressing speculation about his vision during a tour stop in Cardiff, Wales.

Stevie Wonder addresses rumors about his blindness

While performing in Cardiff on July 10 as part of his Love, Light and Song UK tour, Stevie Wonder directly confronted a rumor that has followed him for years.

“I must say to all of you, something that I was thinking, ‘When did I want to let the world know this?’ But I wanted to say it right now,” Wonder, 75, told the audience, according to an Instagram video shared by a concertgoer.

“You know there have been rumors about me seeing and all that? But seriously, you know the truth,” he added before clarifying.

“Truth is, shortly after my birth, I became blind,” said Wonder. “Now, that was a blessing because it’s allowed me to see the world in the vision of truth, of sight. See people in the spirit of them, not how they look. Not what color they are, but what color is their spirit?”

Anthony Anderson and Shaquille O’Neal have joked about Stevie Wonder being able to see

Over the years, several celebrities have joked about Stevie Wonder’s blindness.

In 2016, actor Anthony Anderson made light of the subject during an appearance on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert'.

“What y’all don’t know is, Stevie can see,” Anderson said while recounting how he once challenged the Grammy winner to a basketball game. “It’s just an act.”

NBA star Shaquille O’Neal also shared a surprising story during a 2019 episode of 'Inside the NBA'. He recalled running into Wonder in the elevator of his building.

“He came in, said, ‘What’s up, Shaq?’ [He] presses the button. Gets off on his floor. Goes to his room,” said Shaquille O’Neal.

"I went and called every person I knew and told them the story. He got on the elevator and was like, ‘What’s up, Shaq? How you doing, big dog?’”

Stevie Wonder reveals his mother cried ‘every night’ after his diagnosis

Stevie Wonder has always been open about his blindness. In 2024, he revisited the topic in 'The Wonder of Stevie' audiobook series.

“I was born. Shortly after that, I’m blind,” he shared. “My mother went through the different things, and so my experience with that was deep.”

Wonder described how his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, was heartbroken by the diagnosis. “She would cry every night,” he said, recalling how he comforted her. “Mama, you shouldn’t cry, you’re making my head hurt.”

“And I said, ‘Maybe God has something for me that’s bigger than all this,’” added Stevie Wonder. “History proved that true.”

In 2004, Wonder gave further insight into his upbringing in an interview with Oprah Magazine.

“She didn’t bind me up. She wasn’t like, ‘Don’t step there!’ or ‘Watch out, you’ll fall!’” he said about his mother. “She’d tell me to be careful, but I was going to do what I was going to do. She was just fast enough to catch me.”

Wonder shared that Lula Mae allowed him to be independent early on, which helped him adapt.

“She saw that I’d developed what’s called facial radar, meaning that I could hear the sound of objects around me,” he explained.

“If you close your eyes and put your hands right in front of your face, then move your hands, you can actually hear the sound of the air bouncing off your hands,” Wonder said.