Missy Elliott Talks Living With Graves’ Disease: “I’m Blessed To Be Here”
Missy Elliott is gearing up for her first-ever headlining tour in her career, the Out of This World Tour, and before the legend hits the road, she opened up about her 16-year battle with Graves’ disease. In a new interview with People Magazine, Elliott explained how excited she is to be hitting the road and how her diagnosis in 2008 impacted her and her career.
The Virginia native asserted that she is “blessed to be here” and has persisted through the difficulty of the illness but has managed to “feel good” through Graves’ disease medication. Missy also dishes about her morning routine living with the condition and how it played a part in coming up with new ideas for the upcoming tour.
“Every day I wake, I’m blessed to be here and in good health,” she stated. “I’m feeling so much better now. That was a run. Every now and then you get a little ache in the leg or the knee, but outside of that, I feel good.”
“Listen, every morning my regimen is I get up, wash my face, brush my teeth, and walk,” she added. “I say my prayers as I’m walking, and then all of these ideas start coming to mind. I’ll call everybody like, ‘I want to swing from this,’ and they’re like, ‘Do you know how much that costs?’”
It may shock some that 2024 will mark the first time Missy has embarked on a tour since 2004. That year, she trekked across the country with Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Tamia for the Verizon Ladies First Tour. Also, Missy’s last album, The Cookbook, arrived in 2005. A part of the reason for her absence from the tour life was directly related to her Graves’ disease illness.
But now the electric entertainer is finally back. Missy announced her new Out of This World Tour in April, stating that she would be hitting the road with Ciara and Busta Rhymes. Misdemeanor took to Instagram with a sci-fi-inspired trailer showing off her acting skills in making the grand announcement. A press release for the tour was also released the same day, with the rapper saying, “This is an incredible time in my life as I am experiencing so many milestone ‘firsts.’ Being the FIRST female Hip Hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and now going out on my FIRST headline tour.”
“Fans have been asking me to tour forever, but I wanted to wait until I felt the time was right because I knew if I was ever going to do it, I had to do it big, and I had to do it with family! So get ready to be taken OUT OF THIS WORLD with me,” she added. “Busta Rhymes, Ciara, and Timbaland! We can’t wait to share this experience with the fans!”
The Out of This World Tour kicks off on Thursday (July 4) at Vancouver, BC’s Rogers Arena.
Watch the trailer for the tour above.
