Kenan Thompson Shares Health Update After Years of “Suffering in Silence”

Long-time “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson has shared a health update with fans, revealing the diagnosis that he’s been “suffering in silence” with for years.

Thompson Says Heartburn Added “More Stress” to ‘SNL’ Duties

In an interview with People magazine published on April 4, 2025, Thompeon revealed that he began struggling with painful heartburn, especially after eating acidic foods, as early as two years prior.

Thompson, who joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” more than two decades ago in 2003, is currently the longest-tenured cast member on the award-winning live sketch-comedy show. Speaking with People, Thompson revealed that the pain from his then-undiagnosed heartburn had grown to the point that is was beginning to interfere with with “SNL” workdays.

”I noticed that I would get hoarse a lot easier when I’m doing the show. Losing my voice quicker, but also uncomfortable sleepless nights because I’m burping up acid, just kind of hiccuping all night,” Thompson explained. “And that can definitely add more stress to an already stressful kind of environment doing a live show like that. So all of those, I was like, whatever I’ll get over it. But it just started to pile up.”

After trying to alleviate the pain with over-the-counter medications to no avail, Thompson shared, “That’s when it got serious.”

He added, “It was a suffering-in-silence situation. I don’t know if I was necessarily embarrassed to talk to a doctor – I just didn’t know if I needed to.”

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Thompson Joins Awareness Campaign Following Diagnosis and Treatment

The “Good Burger 2” star revealed that he sought professional medical help for the heartburn in early 2024 after his symptoms reached their “most extreme.” Thompson was diagnosed with Gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD. The Mayo Clinic describes GERD as when “stomach acid repeatedly flows back up into the tube connecting the mouth and the stomach,” or, the esophagus.

”I didn’t know there was a real medical term for it,” Thompson told People, adding that he “felt immediate relief” after being diagnosed and prescribed Voquezna, a potassium competitive acid blocker, to treat the condition.

Following his diagnosis, Thompson partnered with Phanthom Pharmaceuticals, an organization dedicated to changing the “status quo of treatment for acid-related disorders.” Thompson works with the pharmaceutical company on its GERD IS NO JOKE campaign, raising awareness for the condition as well as for Voquezna.

”God bless, I feel great” Thompson added. “I’m in a much healthier kind of space with my daily lifestyle and meal decision-making and all of that good stuff. I’m in a good place.”;

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