Conflicting Reports on Joni Mitchell’s Current Health, Singer-Songwriter Still At UCLA Medical Center [UPDATED]

Despite initial reports that Mitchell was unable to speak following her aneurysm, she is now said to be at home making a recovery.
Conflicting Reports on Joni Mitchell’s Current Health, Singer-Songwriter Still At UCLA Medical Center [UPDATED]

Despite initial reports that Mitchell was unable to speak following her aneurysm, she is now said to be at home making a recovery.

Words: FLOOD Staff

photo by Steve Granitz/Getty

June 29, 2015

JONI MITCHELL arrives at the Hammer Museum’s “Gala In The Garden” Honoring Joni Mitchell And Mark Bradford at Hammer Museum…

Yesterday, TMZ reported that Joni Mitchell had fallen into a coma at the UCLA Medical Center, where she’s been hospitalized since being found unconscious in her home one month ago. Mitchell’s reps later refuted the claim on the singer-songwriter’s official website, issuing the following statement from Mitchell friend Leslie Morris, who is reportedly with Mitchell in the hospital:

“Contrary to rumors circulating on the Internet today, Joni is not in a coma. Joni is still in the hospital – but she comprehends, she’s alert, and she has her full senses. A full recovery is expected. The document obtained by a certain media outlet simply gives her longtime friend Leslie Morris the authority—in the absence of 24-hour doctor care—to make care decisions for Joni once she leaves the hospital. As we all know, Joni is a strong-willed woman and is nowhere near giving up the fight. Please continue to keep Joni in your thoughts.” You may add your well wishes for her at the website WeLoveYouJoni.com

TMZ defended their report, citing the legal conservatorship documents that say “[Mitchell] remains unconscious and unable to make any responses.” Billboard also claims “multiple sources” that say her current condition is “far worse than her representatives have led the public to believe,” with one source saying, “It’s very serious.”

Mitchell, who is 71, survived polio as a child, and also suffers from Morgellons disease, a mysterious affliction that causes sufferers to “feel like something is right under their skin, or trying to come out of it.” It’s not clear what specifically is to blame for her current medical state, however.

Standby for updates as they become available.

(via Pitchfork and Billboard)

Originally published April 29, 1:13 p.m.


Updated: June 29, 12:35 p.m.: Seemingly in response to David Crosby describing Joni Mitchell’s state as mute (“To my knowledge she is not speaking yet”), a new statement has been issued from conservator Leslie Morris on the current health of the singer-songwriter.

In it, Mitchell is briefly but firmly noted as “speaking well,” and though she is still unable to walk, “she is resting comfortably in her own home and she’s getting better each day. A full recovery is expected.”

(via The New York Times)