Fans Are Worried About 'American Idol' Guest Mentor Randy Jackson Due to Weak Voice

Over the years, American Idol has grown tremendously. From the iconic talent that has graced the stage to music industry heavy hitters that have sat at the coveted judge’s table, the show continues to elevate and keep the masses entertained.

That said, as the show has entered a new era, fans never expected the OG judges to make a grand return. So, when Randy Jackson returned home to serve as a guest mentor, fans were excited to see him in his true form, uplifting the contestants.

However, while fans appreciated seeing the OG, many are concerned about his health, given how he looked and sounded on the show.

American Idol viewers saw Randy give the Season 24 Top 5 contestants some feedback during and after their rehearsals. Randy, who was known to be a father figure, so to speak, has always been admired for keeping it real and challenging contestants to dig deeper into their talent.

However, while Randy was providing feedback, viewers noticed that his voice sounded off. And while some folks are not one to immediately hop on the “sick” rumor mill, his appearance didn’t help.

“Randy Jackson is only 69 years old. Why is he having trouble speaking? Is he perhaps losing too much weight, or maybe he’s sick tonight,” an X user questioned.

“#AmericanIdol What is Randy Jackson's deal.... He looks out of it... Can barely speak,” another X user shared.

At this time, Randy has not addressed the chatter online about his voice sounding off. However, since he’s had his share of health issues in the past, many fans are attributing the change of voice to it.

Not to mention, some fans are also calling out that Randy was not the only person with voice issues. Paula Abdul, Randy’s former colleague on Idol, was also said to have sounded off during the show.

So, this may be a cause of issues with sound equipment as opposed to Randy actually tackling health issues.

Fans who have been following Randy over the years are aware that the former American Idol judge underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2003. The surgery followed his type 2 diabetes diagnosis in 2002. As a result, he made a commitment to improve his life and his health.

Since getting the bypass surgery and working with various fitness and nutrition experts, People shared that he lost 114 pounds. And while his health was an issue, he shared that the feedback he received while on the show played a role in his improving his life.

“I think it was Season 2 on Idol,” Randy told the publication. “You come in and they go ‘Yeah dawg, you’re telling me I’m terrible but you’re fat! And I would go, ‘I am. I have mirrors in my house. I know!’ So I think that finally, it was that and also I had an emergency room visit that I thought I was really sick and had a cold or something.”

He went on to share the importance of managing your weight when you have type 2 diabetes, which inspired him to co-found Unify Health Labs, a product he claims helps people get into shape.

“This is me sort of giving back,” Randy told the publication, while saying it “other people in their journey to get healthy — while sparing them the long confusing search I went through.”

He continued: “Something that’s a simple solution because all of us probably have 50 bottles on the counter or 50 bottles in the bathroom of different vitamins and things that we take. The root causes of these certain diseases and trying to get your best health, it all starts in the gut. Gut health is really best health.”