Viewers of a livestream watched the medical emergency that left Ray J hospitalized Thursday, Oct. 1, Billboard reported. TMZ was first with the news.
The 45-year-old R&B singer and reality TV personality was streaming on his Kick account from Fab Factory, through the Zeus Network, when firefighters and an ambulance were called. No diagnosis or official update on his condition had been released as of Thursday night.
Ray J hospitalized after paramedics responded on camera
Footage from the stream shows Ray J lying shirtless on a couch with monitoring equipment on his chest while medical workers tend to him. His mother, Sonja Norwood, was with him.
He walked to the stretcher himself, a detail Billboard described as a possibly encouraging sign.
Ray J hospitalized several times in 2026
The scare follows a string of health problems this year. Billboard reported that Ray J was hospitalized in Las Vegas on Jan. 7 with severe pneumonia and heart pain, another story TMZ broke at the time.
He returned to the hospital in May, when his heart rate slowed after his celebrity boxing match with Supa Hot Fire, according to the outlet. Based on Billboard’s account, Thursday leaves Ray J hospitalized for at least the third time in 2026.
In an Instagram message after one of those stays, he thanked fans for their prayers and offered a sobering detail: “My heart’s only beating like 25 percent, but as long as I stay focused and stay on the right path, everything will be all right.”
What he has said about the cause
Ray J has linked his heart trouble to years of heavy drinking and drug use. In a separate live video cited by Billboard, he said he once believed, “I can handle all the alcohol, I can handle all the Adderall,” before admitting, “but I couldn’t.”
Ray J, whose sister is singer Brandy, rose to fame in the late 1990s and later starred in reality shows including “Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood.”
For more, see our coverage of Megan Thee Stallion’s onstage health emergency, the latest music news and more celebrity and pop culture stories.
