Stevie Wonder has spoken out after years of rumors that he's not actually blind.
During a recent stop in Cardiff, Wales, for his Love, Light and Song UK tour, the music legend spoke candidly about the speculation that’s followed him for years.
In a moment captured by a fan and shared on social media, Wonder, 75, took a heartfelt pause to set the record straight.
“I must say to all of you, something that I was thinking, ‘When did I want to let the world know this?’ But I wanted to say it right now,” he began. “You know there have been rumors about me seeing and all that? But seriously, you know the truth.
“Truth is, shortly after my birth, I became blind,” Wonder said. “Now, that was a blessing because it’s allowed me to see the world in the vision of truth, of sight. See people in the spirit of them, not how they look. Not what color they are, but what color is their spirit?”
The 'Superstition' singer’s words were met with cheers and applause.
The Grammy-winning icon has long been the subject of rumors suggesting he isn’t actually blind. Back in 2016, actor Anthony Anderson joked on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: “What y’all don’t know is, Stevie can see… It’s just an act.”
Three years later, Shaquille O’Neal shared his own story, claiming Wonder recognized him in an elevator. “He got on the elevator and was like, ‘What’s up, Shaq? How you doing, big dog?’” Shaq said, insisting that Wonder even pressed the button for his floor before exiting like any sighted person would.
And earlier this year, Justin Bieber joined the trend with a screenshot of a failed FaceTime call to Wonder, captioned: “This fool never sees my facetimessss.”
The image showed Bieber grinning as he waited for an answer, with Wonder’s song 'Overjoyed' playing in the background.
But Wonder has always met these moments with warmth.
While presenting Jamie Foxx with the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2025 BET Awards, he poked fun at their relationship with a perfectly timed jab: “He hit me up because of his win — Academy Award — for ‘Ray.’ And I said, ‘You know Jamie, just because you play a blind man that don’t mean that we’re besties, okay?’”
He went on to tease Foxx about his “love for blind people.”
Beyond the humor, Wonder has been open about the struggles and resilience of his early years. In the 2024 The Wonder of Stevie podcast, he reflected on his diagnosis and how it affected his family, especially his mother.
“I was born. Shortly after that, I’m blind,” he shared. “My mother went through the different things, and so my experience with that was deep.” Wonder remembered her crying “every night” until he finally told her: “Mama, you shouldn’t cry, you’re making my head hurt.”
He added: “And I said, ‘Maybe God has something for me that’s bigger than all this.’ History proved that true.”
In a 2004 interview with O, The Oprah Magazine, Wonder described his adventurous childhood and how his mother, Lula Mae Hardaway, gave him the freedom to explore.
“She wasn’t like, ‘Don’t step there!’ or ‘Watch out, you’ll fall!’ She’d tell me to be careful, but I was going to do what I was going to do,” he said. “She knew I had to learn — and the more she allowed me to do, the more she could let go," he said.
He credited that independence with helping him develop what he called “facial radar” — the ability to hear the air move around objects.
“If you close your eyes and put your hands right in front of your face, then move your hands, you can actually hear the sound of the air bouncing off your hands,” he explained.
Today, Wonder’s legacy is nearly unmatched. With 25 Grammy Awards and an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1984, he’s a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame.