Fox News viewers spent June trading side-by-side screenshots of their 9 p.m. host’s swollen face, and the man himself supplied the explanation.
Sean Hannity, 64, has tied the change to a pinched nerve in his neck and prednisone, the steroid prescribed to treat it.
Prednisone is widely prescribed to calm inflammation, and the facial swelling it causes — “moon face” — is a well-known side effect of the steroid.
Clips Spread After a Miller Interview
The speculation about Hannity’s appearance began after his broadcast on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, an interview with Stephen Miller, a senior Trump adviser and White House deputy chief of staff.
Clips and stills spread fast. The account @BadFoxGraphics placed January and June screenshots of the host side by side, and Josh Johnson, a host on “The Daily Show,” joked that week about Hannity’s enlarged cheeks.
Hannity answered the next day. He posted on X on Wednesday, June 24, that he had developed a pinched nerve in his neck while training, and that the prednisone his doctor prescribed had brought on laryngitis and puffiness — both normal for the medication.
“I’m fine, recovering well, and still training, but apparently a few weeks of prednisone has generated more social media commentary than 30 years of ratings success,” he wrote.
He had not stopped training, he added, and described a routine of four days a week blending Krav Maga, jujitsu and kenpo. He thanked those who had expressed concern, including critics in what he called the “left-wing media,” and said a pinched nerve, a raspy voice and a puffy face were not about to take him out.
‘Not Dying of a Stroke’
Hannity had raised the same subject two days earlier on “The Sean Hannity Show.” On Monday, June 22, he asked frequent co-host Lynda McLaughlin whether his voice sounded better. America, she told him, was excited he was “not dying of a stroke.”
A bad sinus infection had triggered the laryngitis, Hannity told listeners that day, and he had not wanted to start the steroid at all. His doctor told him to ride it out, he said, and assured him he was not hurting his vocal cords.
The Workload He Won’t Cut
A Deseret News profile published Oct. 9 found the conservative host’s workload untouched: a nightly television show, a three-hour radio program and a twice-weekly podcast. The television and radio shows each run five times a week.
The profile was written as Hannity marked 30 years at Fox News. The profile said more than 2.6 million people watch “Hannity,” which airs in the network’s 9 p.m. hour, each weeknight. His radio program reaches about 20 million people each week, and his podcast, “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” launched this year.
He sleeps four to five hours a night, he told the paper, to the dismay of his doctor.
Lawrence Jones, a Fox host Hannity mentored, recalled telling him on a day he was feeling unwell that he had nothing left to prove. Hannity’s reply, according to Jones: he was not trying to accomplish anything more, he was trying to save the country.
Cornel West, a longtime friend, urged him to ease up as the two taped a show together. “Brother Sean, you’re not a spring chicken, man,” West said.
“I don’t want to slow down,” Hannity answered.
He has described no new diagnosis, hospitalization or surgery, and he has kept up the full schedule.
Hannity is having a busy and personal fall: a long-awaited wedding, a milestone anniversary at Fox News, and a full slate of midterm coverage.
A Palm Beach Wedding
Hannity married fellow Fox News personality Ainsley Earhardt on Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Fla. — the same church where he proposed on Christmas Eve 2024. Fox News colleagues and government officials attended. President Trump went to a pre-wedding celebration at Mar-a-Lago the night before but skipped the ceremony itself. Hannity wore a white tuxedo jacket, and Earhardt, a “Fox & Friends” co-host, wore a white Oscar de la Renta gown. In a joint statement, the couple said they were beginning a new chapter as husband and wife.
Three Decades at Fox
This month the network ran a retrospective on Hannity’s 30 years at Fox News. He co-hosted the network’s original debate show, “Hannity & Colmes,” from Fox’s founding in 1996 until 2009, and has hosted his own prime-time program since then.
A Growing Podcast
Hannity also hosts “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” a Fox News Media podcast that premiered on YouTube in March 2026. October guests have included pollsters Matt Towery and Robert Cahaly, Franklin Graham, Dana Perino, Rahm Emanuel and Cornel West. Most recently, Hannity previewed an interview with former Sen. Joe Manchin, who criticized the political extremes running the country.
Midterm Mode
On air, his focus is the Nov. 3 elections. His radio show has covered the shifting midterm landscape and growing uncertainty over control of Congress. His TV show has featured segments on Senate candidates James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed, and legal analyst Gregg Jarrett appeared on “Hannity” on Oct. 29 to discuss the federal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar.
