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Ray J is speaking out after he was seen performing with bleeding eyes and a chest monitor at a recent concert
“Forget what they’re talking about. Forget what you’re hearing. Thank you for your prayers,” he said in a Facebook video
A photographer previously claimed that Ray J applied “fake blood and things like that” during the performance
Ray J is speaking out after his bloody performance.
The rapper, 45, was seen performing with bleeding eyes and a chest monitor at his Feb. 14 concert in Shreveport, La. He addressed the shocking situation in a Facebook video shared on Thursday, Feb. 19, telling fans to “forget what you’re hearing.”
“I want to thank everybody out here for showing us love,” Ray J said in the video. “I’m on my way to Atlanta, and then I’m on my way to L.A. But I just want to thank everybody out here.”
“Forget what they’re talking about. Forget what you’re hearing. Thank you for your prayers,” he continued. “Thank you for your love. And again, all we can do is get better. Salute, I love you.”
Ray J attends the Children’s Charity Of Southern CA Poker And Casino Night on July 24, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Unique Nicole/Getty
The “One Wish” artist proceeded to say he enjoyed his time in Shreveport. “I’ll see y’all soon,” he said to those in the city.
Ray J’s recent performance has garnered both concern and criticism from the public. Photographer Tommy Nard II claimed to news outlet KTAL 6 that Ray J applied “fake blood and things like that” during the concert.
“He loves the camera. He loves the attention. Anybody that knows him, it’s all theatrical,” he said of the rapper.
Ray J’s manager Melinda Santiago took issue with Nard II’s account in a statement to PEOPLE on Thursday, Feb. 18. “
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,” she wrote in the statement.
The rapper’s wife Princess Love has also weighed in on the allegations. According to The Jasmine Brand, she commented “it wasn’t fake” on an Instagram post about the photographer’s claims.
Ray J, born William Raymond Norwood Jr., said in a Facebook a video ahead of the concert that he’s “putting my life on the line for this show!!”
His headline-making performance came shortly after he claimed that doctors said he only had months to live. “My heart’s only beating like 25 percent, but as long as I stay focused and stay on the right path, everything will be all right,” he said in an Instagram video in January.
Ray J performs during ONE Musicfest 2025 in Atlanta in October 2025.
Julia Beverly/Getty
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The same month, Ray J made additional claims about his health in an Instagram Live that was shared on X. “2027 is definitely a wrap for me,” he said, alleging that doctors told him he will not live long and his heart had turned “black” due to abusing alcohol and drugs.
The R&B singer was admitted to a hospital in Las Vegas on Jan. 7 due to severe pneumonia and heart pain, TMZ first reported.
He was previously hospitalized with pneumonia in 2021.
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