Sean Hannity, 64, Addresses 'Puffy Face' After Viewers Question His On-Air Appearance
Sean Hannity, 64, Addresses 'Puffy Face' After Viewers Question His On-Air Appearance
Joseph KonigThu, June 25, 2026 at 4:43 PM UTC
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Fox News host Sean Hannity on his June 23 broadcast.Credit: Fox News -
Fox News primetime stalwart Sean Hannity addressed concerns from viewers who noted his “puffy face” and “raspy voice” in recent appearances on his nightly broadcast
Hannity, 64, appeared with notably swollen features on his Tuesday, June 23, show
The longtime Fox News host said his doctor prescribed him prednisone to treat pain and inflammation from a pinched nerve
Fox News primetime stalwart Sean Hannity addressed concerns from viewers who noted his “puffy face” and “raspy voice” in recent appearances on his nightly broadcast.
The comments sparked a response after Hannity appeared on his Tuesday, June 23, show with notably swollen features as he analyzed primary election night results out of New York and interviewed White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
“Thanks to everyone who has checked in. I’ve already addressed this several times on my radio show, but while training, I developed a painful pinched nerve in my neck,” Hannity wrote on X on Wednesday, June 24. “My doctor put me on prednisone to reduce the inflammation, and while it’s helping, it led to laryngitis and some puffiness, which is normal for this medication.”
“I’m fine, recovering well, and still training, but apparently a few weeks of prednisone has generated more social media commentary than 30 years of ratings success,” he continued, adding that he was sorry to disappoint his critics, "but a pinched nerve, a raspy voice, and a puffy face aren’t taking me out anytime soon.”
Prednisone, a steroid medication taken orally or via injection, is commonly prescribed to address pain and inflammation from a pinched nerve and a variety of other conditions, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Hannity, 64, is not a particular fan of the side effects he gets from using it, however.
On his nationally syndicated radio show on June 17, he said, “I’ve always struggled at different times with laryngitis because of just the magnitude of talking I do on the air.”
“And the usual course of action is to take something like prednisone, which is a horrible medicine — the worst ever — that flushes your face, makes you bloated, hungry, irritable, and you know, ravenous for any food you can put in your stomach,” Hannity said. “It's just annoying. So I've been trying, I was trying to avoid it.”
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Sean Hannity looks on as Vice President JD Vance visits the show "Hannity" at Fox News Channel Studios on June 15 in New York City.Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty
But the longtime conservative broadcaster and confidant to President Donald Trump said his show the day prior, on June 16, had triggered comments and concern from his audience.
“I was trying to avoid it, and anyone that listened to the radio show yesterday, I mean, the first thing my staff said to me was, 'You sound like crap,’ ” he continued.
He said the June 16 show was followed by a podcast interview with Vice President JD Vance about his new book on his conversion to Catholicism, and then he interviewed Vance again for his 9 p.m. show.
“The five-minute interim between the time I finished the podcast and the time I actually got on the air, [my throat] closed completely and it didn't open until I started really talking and interviewing the vice president,” Hannity said. “I promise you there's nothing serious going on. This is just a typical Hannity laryngitis event. And I don't know just what am I supposed to do. I'm on live TV, I'm on live radio. Just is what it is.”
ice President JD Vance visits the show "Hannity" with host Sean Hannity at Fox News Channel Studios on June 15 in New York CityCredit: Roy Rochlin/Getty
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Hannity has been with Fox News since its founding in 1996 and began hosting his self-titled primetime show the same year, which remains among the top-rated news shows in the country.
Sean Hannity, host of Hannity on Fox News, left, and his wife Jill Rhodes, arrive at Mar-a-Lago on Feb. 1 for the wedding of White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.Credit: Al Drago/Getty
Last year, Hannity told Muscle & Fitnessmagazine that he works out at a mixed martial arts dojo four days a week and “every day, I do a minimum of 150 sit-ups and 150 pushups.”
“Stop making the excuses,” Hannity advised. “You just have to make yourself do it, and you will feel a sense of accomplishment that I can’t even describe.”
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
