- Muni Long’s lupus diagnosis led to a life-threatening health crisis while on tour, requiring a double lung transplant.
- Doctors gave her a week to live, but Long decided to undergo the risky surgery to have more time with her son.
- After a successful transplant, Long’s new voice is even better than before, although she is still recovering her vocal skills.
Muni Long talks about a terrifying time in her life that led to her undergoing a double lung transplant.
The singer revealed the details of her health journey this week Good morning Americathen she revealed that she underwent a double lung transplant afterward drop out early from Brandy and Monica’s The Boy Is Mine tour.
Long, 37, opened up to co-host Robin Roberts about her health concerns during the 2025 tour, admitting she wasn’t in a position to embark on the trip in the first place.
“I should never have done that tour. But there was so much going on in my life where I had to do it,” said the singer, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2014.
The Grammy winner went on to recall that she became ill with pneumonia during the tour, and admitted that she barely made it to her final show.
“I could only make two songs,” she recalled of her last night on tour.
Long went home for Thanksgiving and “woke up in the hospital,” where doctors told her she needed a double lung transplant.
“I knew for a long time that something was wrong,” the singer explains. “Every day I spit into cups and cough all the time. I try to take all these medications to get through the day. In this industry you’re always in people’s faces. So I’m taking pictures and I’m huffing and puffing, like I just ran a marathon.”
Although Long felt “so much better” after waking up in the hospital, she was subsequently informed of her prognosis by a team of doctors, who told her she only had one week to live.
“My jaw dropped. Literally. I thought, ‘That’s rude.’ But they were like, ‘This isn’t a joke. You have to make a choice. You can go to hospice or you can get these lungs,” she recalled.
Although Long was hesitant to undergo the surgery, she says her son inspired her decision.
“The ego and vanity said something like, ‘But what about my voice? What’s going to happen?’ But then I look at my son and think about how much life I have left to live. Quality of life was paramount. I can’t sing if I’m not there,” she said.
She had the surgery about six months ago and is now doing ‘fantastic’.
“Tomorrow is my last appointment for all things,” she revealed. “No symptoms. Asymptomatic. No infections. None of that. Then I have my voice check, six months will be in August because I also had to have voice surgery.”
She recently released a new single called “The Riches,” which she revealed was the last song she recorded before her health complications. Fortunately, she thinks her new voice is even better than before the transplant.
“My voice is completely different now. It’s actually better, I should say? But I don’t know yet if I can perform,” she said. “They gave me six months to a year.”
Muni Long announced her departure The Boy Is Mine tour on November 29, 2025. She wrote on social media at the time: “As many of you know, I have been battling a number of health issues during The Boy Is Mine Tour. Although I have done everything I can to persevere, my doctors have made it clear that it is not safe for me to continue with the remaining dates of the tour.”
The following February, Long opened up People about her experience with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease.
“Please turn off the air when I enter the building. I’m no diva, but if I literally get too cold, I start coughing and I can’t sing,” she revealed. “And then when I leave the stage, I immediately have to lie down and put on blankets and steam my voice,” she said at the time.
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