Ray J has responded to claims that he applied fake blood to his face before a concert in order to spark health rumours.
The 45-year-old has been in the headlines after footage of himself performing at in Louisiana on Valentine’s Day while seemingly crying blood and wearing a heart monitor went viral online.
His appearance was concerning, as he’d previously revealed he didn’t ‘have long left to live' after a severe case of pneumonia left him with just ’25 percent’ heart function.
He even went as far to suggest that 2027 was ‘definitely a wrap' for him during an interview with TMZ – so when fans saw the blood streaming down his face there was definitely concerns for his health.
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However, suggestions that blood was leaking from his eyes was later disputed by concert videographer Tommy Nard II, who claimed to KTAL 6 that he’d seen the ‘One Wish’ singer applying ‘fake blood’ before the performance.
"He loves the camera. He loves the attention. Anybody that knows him, it’s all theatrical,” Nard told the outlet.
Now Ray J has issed a response to the claims, telling US radio show The Breakfast Club that he would not exploit his health in order to ‘get the people going’.
“I talked to the photographer, and he was said he was trying to make it lighter and make it cool because he didn’t want us to look crazy,” the singer – real name William Ray Norwood Jr – said.
He provided no further update on his health, saying he didn't want updates on his health to go 'dumb viral'.
Host Loren LoRosa then added that Ray J believed the Nard’s comments were made as an attempt to calm the situation as he believed it had been blown out of proportion.
His comments follow a statement from manager Melinda Santiago, who told PEOPLE that her client would never exploit his health in order to make headlines.
“We all know that Ray J has been under the weather," she said. "But all my artists that work with me gotta do their job whether they are bleeding or not."
Going on to address Ray J's health and the claims made by Nand, she added: "The bottom line is Ray J has been in and out of the hospital dealing with health and heart issues. That is a fact. Another fact is that the meds that Ray is on have some side effects.
"It's absurd that a local videographer (not our team) would want to clout chase for five min of fame off of Ray J name and play about Ray being sick is sick in itself. My job is to protect my artists backstage from opportunistic people. If we can't do that, then I’ll be cutting off all backstage access moving forward."
Brenna Cooper