On the off-chance that you’ve been agonizing over Goldie Hawn and her kids, worrying about how they’re dealing with Kurt Russell’s health woes, you can set your mind at ease. Despite rumors of terrifying illnesses, Russell is a-okay (that’s Nicki code for no, he does not have a rare disorder or a flesh-eating disease). 

ICYMI, over the years, there have been a bunch of bizarre claims about Russell’s health. In 2017, a picture of him with some very large black sores under his lips began doing the rounds. At the time, Radar spoke with two doctors who said the growths were certainly a cause for concern. Notably, the outlet pointed out that neither doctor had actually treated Russell IRL. Nevertheless, Radar mused that black growths could be associated with Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome. 

It bears mentioning that Russell never addressed the speculation back in 2017 and hasn’t in the time since, either. However, it certainly is a little eyebrow-raising that the blisters he was pictured with appeared fairly symmetrical and all the way along his bottom lip, making us question if they were edited on. What’s more, there’s also something to be said for the fact no major outlets reported on the supposed health issue. On the contrary, it was limited to tabloids, whose credibility has been called into question on a number of occasions. More recently, the rumors have resurfaced on YouTube, but once again, the credibility has been sketchy at best. Case in point: The videos make mention in their titles of Russell’s “Wife.” As anyone familiar with the couple will know, despite their years-long and storied romance, Hawn and Russell never married. Oh, and as for one of the images used to suggest Russell had the disease? Legit publications had previously shared that was the actor in makeup for “Deepwater Horizon.” 

If online rumors are to be believed, Kurt Russell hasn’t just been diagnosed with Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome. In addition to that, some have also made an even scarier claim. Enter the flesh-eating disease. 

It’s not exactly clear where the rumor that Russell has Necrotizing Fasciitis began. However, in 2023, a Facebook account asked fans of the actor to keep him in their prayers as he faced the disease, which could cause things like sepsis, swelling, and blisters. It’s possible that it all stemmed from the Peutz-Jeghers rumors years prior, as some of the outlets that reported on that erroneously claimed that the disease was a flesh-eating one. Granted, it is worth noting that Necrotizing Fasciitis can be a complication after surgery — and in 2021, Russell did go under the knife. As some may remember, back in 2021, he had to skip that year’s Western Heritage Awards, telling the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, “I’m having hip surgery … I had hoped it could wait, but my doctors said it needs to be this September.” It’s possible those behind the rumors used that as their starting point. However, just as we don’t get why anyone would start celebrity death hoaxes, we’ll probably never understand what exactly the reasoning was for this bizarre rumor, either. 

One small win, we guess, is that the two aforementioned YouTube videos both hinted at the Necrotizing Fasciitis diagnosis being “rumored” rather than confirmed. Even so, fans of Goldie Hawn, Russell, and the rest of the Hudson-Hawn-Russell extended family (there are a lot of them!) can rest assured that the actor is not, in fact, suffering rare health woes. If anything, we’re wishing Hawn well with her own health issues — and no, they’re not of the flesh-eating variety, either.