Joni Mitchell Hospital Update: Singer In Coma, Unresponsive

Update 7:38 p.m. EDT: Joni Mitchell’s website denied that she was in a coma and issued the following statement: “Contrary to rumors circulating on the Internet today, Joni is not in a coma. Joni is still in the hospital - but she comprehends, she’s alert, and she has her full senses. A full recovery is expected. The document obtained by a certain media outlet simply gives her longtime friend Leslie Morris the authority-- in the absence of 24-hour doctor care-- to make care decisions for Joni once she leaves the hospital. As we all know, Joni is a strong-willed woman and is nowhere near giving up the fight. Please continue to keep Joni in your thoughts. You may add your well wishes for her at the website WeLoveYouJoni.com.”

Original story:

Singer Joni Mitchell, an eight-time Grammy award winner, is unconscious in a hospital and there is not much hope she will wake up, TMZ said in an exclusive report Tuesday. Mitchell, 71, was first rushed to Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center March 31 after she was discovered unresponsive in her Los Angeles home. She hasn’t left the hospital since.

Leslie Morris, who has been friends with the entertainer for decades, filed legal documents to obtain conservatorship for the award-winning singer. The “Big Yellow Taxi” star is "so impaired as to be incapable of being assessed,” the documents said.

“Joni has been hospitalized. We are awaiting official word on her condition and will post it here as soon as we know,” a statement posted on Mitchell’s website, jonimitchell.com, said when she entered the hospital in March. However, the "official website of Joni Mitchell” has a disclaimer that states the people in charge of the website "have no direct line to Joni."

Since then, there have been several tweets posted to Mitchell’s official Twitter account.

The last message said there would be a Jazz Gala for the singer.

The official Twitter account has not posted since the most recent development in her condition.

Mitchell, who was born in Canada, is a life-long smoker. Mitchell once said, “Six decades of smoking have robbed me of my voice,” Variety reported. Her last album, “Shine,” was released in 2007. She also is known for hit records like “Clouds,” “Ladies of the Canyon” and “Blue.” She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

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