Published: 18:38 BST, 20 August 2026 | Updated: 18:44 BST, 20 August 2026
Country star Justin Moore has spoken out about a scary medical condition that left him with a thicker neck and looking 'like a linebacker circa 1982.'
The 42-year-old Small Town USA singer, who announced he was taking time off from touring to focus on his health in June, revealed on Wednesday's episode of Tracy Lawrence's TL's Roadhouse podcast that he underwent a medical evaluation after detecting a buildup of fat around his neck.
Moore told Lawrence that he worried the growth might be cancer, but tests and an MRI determined the tissue was benign and just harmless fat.
However, doctors advised against surgical removal because the procedure was very difficult and could result in damage to his speaking and singing voice.
'I've had some health issues. Nothing life-threatening, thankfully. I've got a – I don't know if you can see this on my neck, I'm sure people think, 'Golly, he's been eatin' good,"' he said.
'We thought it was called a lipoma. But it's just fat. It's benign, thank God. And they told me it would be very, very difficult to do surgery, and it may affect my singing, and even my speaking voice.
Country star Justin Moore spoke out about a scary medical condition that left him with a thicker neck and looking 'like a linebacker circa 1982' on Wednesday's episode of Tracy Lawrence's TL's Roadhouse podcast
The Small Town USA singer – pictured on April 18 – worried the growth might be cancer, but tests and an MRI determined the tissue was benign and just harmless fat
'It's weird, it doesn't affect me, I just look like a linebacker circa 1982, thick neck,' he quipped.
He was 'bummed out' leaving the hospital after doctors told him the benign fat in his neck couldn't be safely removed.
'My wife and I were walking out of the hospital when I had an MRI or something and they had told us, "Man, great news. It's benign, but there's really not anything we can do about it,"' Moore recalled.
'So I was kind of bummed out walking out of the hospital, cause at the time we didn't know if it was cancer. We didn't know what it was, you know, and of course your mind takes you to the worst possible places obviously.'
Moore revealed that his wife of nine years, Kate, with whom he has three daughters and one son, gave him some perspective.
'And my wife looked at me, she goes, "If you just have a fat neck and you're here for the next 50 years, then shut up and stop complaining,"' the hitmaker remembered.
