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Singer LeAnn Rimes goes nude to reveal painful skin disease
Singer LeAnn Rimes has stripped off for a moving nude photoshoot to reveal the full extent of her life-long battle with a painful skin disease.
The Coyote Ugly star opened up about her journey with psoriasis and the insecurity associated with the condition in a candid essay for Glamour in honour of World Psoriasis Day.
“I needed this,” the 38-year-old wrote of the cathartic experience.
“When I was in public, I did everything I could to hide it. Onstage I’d often wear two pairs of pantyhose or jeans — even in 95-degree heat.
“Underneath my shirt, my whole stomach would be covered in thick scales that would hurt and bleed. For so much of my life, I felt like I had to hide,” she added.
Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes red, itchy scaly patches. It tends to go through cycles, flaring for a few weeks or months, according to the Mayo Clinic, and the disease has no cure.
LeAnn was diagnosed at age two and says that by the age of six the red marks covered 80 per cent of her body.
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In her 20s, the singer found a treatment that seemed to help but she discontinued it around two years ago, not knowing a pandemic loomed.
She explained that her flare-ups returned due to the stress of COVID-19 and, while she has talked about her psoriasis before, she held back on sharing the severity.
“This time is different,” she wrote. “Even though I’ve opened up, I’ve still kept hidden.”
The country superstar compared hiding her physical body for so many years with feeling ‘caged in’; now, she’s ‘tired of hiding’.
Even though the nude shoot was daunting, particularly because LeAnn had always avoided photos during a flare-up, she’s proud of the result.
“Being in our own bodies, we judge ourselves so harshly. But when I look at these photos, I see so much more than my skin.”
LeAnn proudly shared the images on social media and has received an outpouring of support from friends and fans.
“LeAnn - I am so proud of you. I saw this photo and immediately got goosebumps. You’ve broken free. You’re flying. LOVE YOU!” wrote one.
“I suddenly feel less ashamed of my psoriasis,” said another.
Additional reporting by Taryn Ryder.
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