Celine Dion Overwhelmed by Standing Ovation at New York Documentary Premiere

Celine Dion received an emotional standing ovation at the New York premiere of her Amazon MGM documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion.” The event took place at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on Monday night, where the singer expressed deep gratitude to her fans and supporters.

Thank you to all of you, from the bottom of my heart, for being part of my journey. This movie is my love letter to each of you, Dion told the audience. I hope to see you all again very, very soon.

The documentary, directed by Irene Taylor, covers approximately a year of Dion’s experience with stiff person syndrome (SPS), a rare neurological and autoimmune disorder that causes muscular stiffness, severely affecting her ability to walk and sing.

During the screening, Dion acknowledged her neurologist, Dr. Amanda Piquet, highlighting the critical role she played in Dion’s battle with SPS. “She has replaced my fear with hope,” Dion remarked. Additionally, Dion announced that her foundation has pledged $2 million to create the Celine Dion Foundation Endowed Chair in Autoimmune Neurology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, with Dr. Piquet being the first to hold this position.

Dion publicly revealed her diagnosis in December 2022, explaining that it had forced her to postpone her “Courage” tour, which was initially scheduled for February 2023. Her first significant public appearance following her diagnosis was at the 2024 Grammy Awards, where she was met with a standing ovation. She also opened up about her condition in an NBC News special, “Celine’s Story,” with Hoda Kotb, disclosing that she used to take up to 90 milligrams of Valium daily to manage her symptoms while performing. She described singing with SPS as feeling like “somebody’s strangling you.”

“I Am: Celine Dion” is set to premiere on Prime Video on June 25.

Celine Dion tears up during the introduction to her documentary "I Am: Celine Dion" and says, "I hope to see you all again very, very soon." pic.twitter.com/qxYp2UcOeZ

— Variety (@Variety) June 18, 2024

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