Amy Schumer breaks silence on Cushing’s syndrome diagnosis thanks to online criticism

Amy Schumer looks on the bright side of internet trolling.

The comedic actress credits internet trolls for helping her discover a surprising health condition.

The January 22 episode of Call her dad podcast, Schumer, 43, shared that she initially didn’t realize she had Cushing’s syndrome until online commenters began criticizing her appearance.

“A year ago the Internet really came to me,” she told host Alex Cooper. “I was like, ‘Okay, everybody, like, relax,'” she said, initially ignoring the comments about her swollen face.

Things changed when doctors came onto her post and offered their diagnoses based solely on her appearance. “The doctors chimed in on the comments and they were like, ‘No, no… there’s really something wrong. Your face looks so crazy,'” Schumer recalled.

Cushing’s syndrome, as described by Mayo Clinic, via Peopleoccurs when the hormone cortisol remains in the body for a long period of time, often due to long-term use of steroids. It can lead to weight gain, acne and a puffy, round face called “moon face”.

“At first I was like, ‘Fk off,'” Schumer said. But she eventually realized that the comments could hold truth.

“Wait, I’ve had steroid injections for my scars,” she explained, referring to treatments she underwent after her breast reduction and C-section.

Schumer, who shares 5-year-old son Gene with husband Chris Fischer, revealed her diagnosis in February 2024.

She admitted it was a shock: “So I got these … steroid injections and then it gave me this thing called Cushing’s syndrome – which I wouldn’t have known if the internet hadn’t hit me so hard.”

The timing of her diagnosis added to the stress as Schumer prepared to star in the Netflix comedy A little pregnantwhich premieres on February 5.

She opened up about her fear of filming while dealing with the condition. “I learned that I had this condition and that I had something called moon face, and I’m in a movie — and there’s a camera right in my face,” she said.

While others reassured her that she looked fine, one friend bluntly pointed out: “Your face looks a little bit insane.”

Schumer said she eventually “relieved” the condition, noting that it “just needs to resolve itself.”

Before filming, however, she struggled with her confidence. “I was really down on myself before I started filming this movie … I was like really struggling to figure out how to be in a movie while I had this.”

It took encouragement from her friend, director Lorraine Caffery, to boost her self-esteem.

“She said to me, ‘You know, I think you look amazing.’ I just needed one person to step me up, Schumer said.