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Celine Dion at Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. |
At the 2024 Grammys, to end a whirlwind of a night, pop star Celine Dion made a surprise appearance to present the award for Album of the Year (to Taylor Swift, of course).
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer’s presence was welcome, to
say the least, given that she has been out of the spotlight since revealing her
diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome, a neurological disorder, in December 2022.
Dion received a standing ovation from the star studded
audience.
Speaking at the event, she said “Thank you all, I love you
right back. When I say that I’m happy to be here, I really mean it from my
heart.”
In 2022, Celine Dion was diagnosed with an incurable
neurological disease called Stiff Person Syndrome, SPS.
Though there is no cure for the disease that turns sufferers into human statues, work can be done to slow the progression. The disease causes her muscles to stiff uncontrollably.
The 54-year-old singer revealed her health condition when she addressed her fans in a tearful Instagram, as she confessed it had forced her to cancel her European tour.Celine first hinted at her health woes in January when she
cancelled the North American dates of her Courage world tour from March 9 to
April 22, 2022.
The announcement came three months after she had to cancel
the start of her Las Vegas comeback residency over the same health issue.
Celine has become known as ‘Queen Of Las Vegas’ because of
her enormously successful residencies there.
After retiring her famous Caesars Palace residency in 2019,
she was coaxed back to Sin City to perform at the new Resorts World on the
Strip.
But despite the history-making moment for Swift, fans online quickly took issue with her acceptance of the award, as she seemed to take the trophy out of Dion's hands without acknowledging the "My Heart Will Go On" songstress.
Taylor Swift completely ignoring Celine Dion like she was some trophy model presenter at #GRAMMYs was wild. She’s won this three times and usually such a pro. But to ignore an icon, who is dealing with so much? Yikes https://t.co/0uM1pN0wkq
— Andy Signore (@andysignore) February 5, 2024
Some viewers watching at home found the moment to be "classless" of Swift, as one user on X (formerly Twitter) put it, while another accused the "Anti-Hero" songstress of "fully ignoring" Dion, who hasn't made a public appearance in quite a while as a result of her ongoing health battle with stiff person syndrome
But a photo of Dion and Swift that emerged shortly after the night ended, has been putting some of the critics at ease, as Swift could be seen sweetly cuddling up to the "I'm Alive" artist backstage after the show.
"Glad this was posted. People were very quick with criticism. I think Taylor was more about acknowledging all her team on stage," one user wrote on Instagram in Swift's defense.
"Thank you, fans needed this," another account commented, while one user chimed in to say, "That’s better!😍."
🚨| Taylor Swift clapping and singing for Celine Dion at the 2024 #GRAMMYs!
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) February 5, 2024
pic.twitter.com/bVSvqwH1qY
Plus, other social media users pointed out that Swift was giving Dion a standing ovation when she first came out, while singing the words to the icon's "Power of Love," which played when she was introduced.