- Justin Timberlake announced he’s been battling Lyme disease, a debilitating illness typically transmitted through a tick bite.
- Tick populations and bites are at their highest levels in over five years, but it’s unclear how Timberlake contracted Lyme disease.
- The pop music legend appeared to have been navigating health issues since last fall after canceling or postponing a number of U.S. shows during his “Forget Tomorrow” world tour.
Justin Timberlake was diagnosed with Lyme disease, the pop music megastar announced on July 31.
The “My Love” singer and former NSYNC member shared his diagnosis in an Instagram post marking the end of his solo “Forget Tomorrow” tour, which had its final show in Turkey on July 30.
Timberlake, who described himself as a “pretty private person,” said he wanted his fans to know what he’d “been up against behind the scenes” as he navigated a disease that “can be relentlessly debilitating, both mentally and physically.”
The 44-year-old said he was “shocked” to receive his Lyme disease diagnosis, but added that it explained why he would experience a “massive amount of nerve pain” and “crazy fatigue or sickness” while he was on stage.
“I was faced with a personal decision,” Timberlake wrote in the post. “Stop touring? Or, keep going and figure it out. I decided the joy that performing brings me far outweighs the fleeting stress my body was feeling. I’m so glad I kept going. Not only did I prove my mental tenacity to myself but, I now have so many special moments with all of you that I will never forget.”
Timberlake added that he was reluctant to open up about his condition because he was “always raised to keep something like this to yourself.”
He said he wanted to be transparent about his battle with Lyme disease, “with the hope that we can all find a way to be more connected. I’d like to do my part to help others experiencing this disease too,” he wrote.
Lyme disease, typically transmitted through Ixodes or deer ticks, is an infectious disease that can lead to flu-like symptoms and neurological issues.
In most cases, the tick-borne illness can be treated with a two-week course of antibiotics. However, in other cases, symptoms of Lyme disease can be long-term and more difficult to overcome.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Timberlake appeared to be navigating health issues since last fall.
While on tour in support of his sixth studio album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” which was released in March 2024, the singer canceled or postponed multiple shows.
He postponed six shows during the U.S. leg of the world tour from October and November to February because he hadn’t “been feeling great,” he shared on Instagram last year.
Whether the 10-time Grammy winner will tour again is also unclear.
“I honestly don’t know what my future is onstage, but I’ll always cherish this run! And all of them before! It’s been the stuff of legend for me,” he wrote on Thursday.
He also thanked his family for their support, saying, “…nothing is more powerful than your unconditional love. You are my heart and my home. I’m on my way.”
Timberlake and his wife, the actor Jessica Biel, share two sons, Silas and Phin.
Tick bites and resulting hospitalizations are soaring in the United States.
Experts say climate change may be a factor driving the increase, as tick populations are no longer specific to the Northeastern U.S. The regions where the insects typically breed have broadened, ranging from the Southeast to the Pacific Northwest.
“Over the past 20 years, tick habitats have been expanding gradually in the United States, William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease expert and professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, told Healthline in an earlier interview about the 2025 tick season.
“Since tick bites can spread certain infectious diseases, the geographic areas impacted by these infections has expanded along with the ticks,” he added. “Doctors have had to become more aware of these tick-transmitted infections and the general public needs to become mindful of how to prevent tick bites when they go out into nature.”
According to the CDC, around
Lyme disease gets its name from the first case, which was identified in Old Lyme, CT. The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are typically found in deer ticks, which contract it after feeding on other infected animals. Not all ticks carry the bacteria, but the ones that do may transmit the disease to humans through bites.
The telltale sign you’ve been bitten by a tick carrying the disease is a bull’s-eye rash, known as an erythema migrans.
Other early symptoms include:
- chills
- fever
- sore throat
- enlarged lymph nodes
- vision changes
- fatigue
- muscle aches or headache
Lyme disease is usually treatable when caught early. Treatment for early stage Lyme disease is often a
Symptoms of late-stage Lyme disease may include abnormal heart rhythm, numbness, and, in severe cases, meningitis. It may also impact the circulatory or central nervous systems and cause damage to the joints. Treatment for more serious forms of Lyme disease may require up to 28 days of antibiotics and other therapies.
There was a vaccine to prevent Lyme disease, but it was discontinued in 2002. Clinical trials are exploring the possibility of another