‘People get scared': Toni Braxton reveals she was asked to hide her lupus diagnosis to save music career

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Toni Braxton is reflecting on her struggle with lupus and how she was advised to hide her diagnosis in order to have a successful music career.

Last week, the 56-year-old songstress appeared on ‘SHE MD’ podcast where she opened up about her initial struggle with the autoimmune disease.

Per the Mayo Clinic, lupus is “a disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks its own tissues and organs".

Toni Braxton shares her initial struggle with lupus

Toni Braxton opened up about her struggle as she shared she felt “ashamed” of her diagnosis, per New York Post.

The ‘Un-Break My Heart’ singer said. “I worked hard to hide it for the longest time. I was ashamed. Especially being a performer. So I would make light of it.”

She continued, “People get scared around sick celebrities,” before adding, “And I couldn’t get insured.”

She explained in the podcast, “You would not get work, because the second I [was] told I had it, I didn’t get work at first.”

“No one wanted to put me on a stage. ‘Well, suppose she collapsed on stage, and the insurance, how are we going to do that?’ And so I couldn’t, at first I did not [work],” added the ‘He Wasn’t Man Enough’ singer.

She further revealed she “felt like a hypochondriac” during the first decade of her struggle with the disease in the absence of a proper diagnosis.

Her symptoms started after the birth of her two sons - Denim, 22, and Diezel, 21, whom she shares with ex-husband Keri Lewis. The songstress shared, “No one could figure it out,” before adding, “Like I’m just telling people, ‘I don’t feel well,’ and no one’s listening.”

She continued, “And it doesn’t have a look. Lupus doesn’t have a look to it — not to say that other things do, but we always try to fake that we’re feeling great or we don’t want to worry anyone. As mothers and women, we tend to do that anyway.”

“We never talk about mental health. It definitely affected it. I had chronic anxiety. … It got worse,” she said, stressing that “there’s nothing to be ashamed of, nothing".

Toni Braxton opens up about lupus diagnosis in 2010

Following almost a decade of struggle, the crooner opened up about her diagnosis while accepting a Women in Achievement award in 2010.

She said during that time, “Today I’m going to talk about it because I’m a survivor and I’m here, and I don’t want to lose hope. Take a look — this is what lupus looks like.”