Stevie Wonder finally addresses claims that he isn’t actually blind

It's a controversial conspiracy theory that has plagued the internet for decades, but this week, Stevie Wonder has finally addressed rumours that he is 'faking' his blindness.

Speculation regarding the 75-year-old's disability has been rife since he first walked onto the R&B/soul music scene in the 1960s, promoting himself as something of a one-man band. Not only could Wonder sing in perfect tune, but he could play synthesisers and other electronic musical instruments, despite not being able to see.

Having been born six weeks prematurely and subsequently placed in the oxygen-rich atmosphere of the hospital incubator, the Michigan musician developed retinopathy of prematurity - a disease that aborts eye growth.

This caused his retinas to detach, leaving him blind.

Wonder became blind shortly after his birth (REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Wonder has previously credited his disability with having enhanced his other senses, and provided him with a plethora of musical gifts.

Despite this, however, his blindness has sadly been a source of amusement for a number of comedians and social media users, many of whom have fuelled rumours that the 'Superstition' star faked his condition.

In 2019, ex-NBA star Shaquille O'Neal claimed in 2019 that Wonder had once recognised him in an elevator.

Three years earlier, actor Anthony Anderson told Stephen Colbert that the singer's blindness is 'an act', claiming he'd challenged Wonder to a basketball game some years earlier.

"What y'all don't know is, Stevie can see," Anderson joked at the time. "It's just an act."

Having seemingly grown tired of the rumour mill, however, Wonder last week spoke out, attempting to shut down speculation regarding his sight once and for all.

Wonder addressed the rumours regarding his blindness this week (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Making an appearance in Cardiff, Wales for his Love, Light and Song tour, the father-of-nine told attendees: "I must say to all of you, something that I was thinking, 'When did I want to let the world know this?'. But I wanted to say it right now."

Wonder went on to say: "You know there have been rumours about me seeing and all that? But seriously, you know the truth. Truth is, shortly after my birth, I became blind. Now, that was a blessing because it’s allowed me to see the world in the vision of truth, of sight.

"See people in the spirit of them, not how they look. Not what colour they are, but what colour is their spirit?"

Last year, in an episode of his The Wonder of Stevie audiobook series, the star recalled his mother's Lula Mae Hardaway reaction to discovering her son would be permanently blind.

"My mother went through the different things, and so my experience with that was deep," he told listeners, adding that she'd cry 'every night'.

Wonder claimed to have told her: "'Mama, you shouldn’t cry, you’re making my head hurt'. And I said, 'Maybe God has something for me that’s bigger than all this'," he continued. "History proved that true."