Pastor Shirley Caesar is not deathly ill, despite perplexing hearsay that has quietly circulated about the singer suggesting that she is either in her last days or has passed away. The 85-year-old shut down speculation about her well-being in a video, proving she was very much “alive and well.”
“Of course you know there’s a rumor that’s going around that says I’m dead and buried. Unless I’m a living dead person, I don’t know anything about it. I just thank God because I know that it’s a blessing to be above the ground than beneath the ground,” began Caesar as she sat at a table for the impromptu recording.
“Now they have out that I’ve been in the hospital from throat cancer and all of that. Let me tell ‘ya something, I praise God I don’t have to knock on wood. I give God praise and glory and honor I’ve never been sick in my life. Isn’t that a blessing? So all of those that pray for me and you love me, thank you so much. Just help me to get this message around to let everybody know that I am alive and well to the glory and honor of God,” she continued.
“We love Mama Shirley…Whomever is spreading the lies.. please stop,” commented a fan when the proof of live video was shared by Toine the Don on Instagram. Another outraged supporter of the Gospel artist wrote, ”Ppl have nothing better to do but play around wit ppl life bc I’ve been seeing that about her and few other celebrities but thank God she’s still here to sing her heart out to us.”
Last year, a number of fans were under the impression that “The First Lady of Gospel Music” succumbed to cancer. One person on X wrote, “I just found out gospel Ms. Shirley Caesar passed away from a long battle with cancer. Paster Caesar sing gospel all of her life, born 1938 in Durham North Carolina. RIP sister Shirley C U when the trumpet will sound 4 me peace 2 fam & the saints amen,” in May.
One YouTube video perpetuating the hoax went as far as to claim that a photo of a Black woman hospitalized with a breathing tube was Caesar during her last moments alive.
Speculation about her purported death resurfaced in January 2024 when another video chronicled her upbringing and career under the premise that she was deceased.
The “Hold My Mule” songstress is not only thriving, she continues to be a viral topic, especially during the holiday season as the “U Name It” challenge from 2021 lives on, too. Caesar’s “I got beans, greens, tomatoes, potatoes” bit even helped garner her a partnership with Red Lobster to narrate a commercial of their holiday menu options.