‘Celine? Celine’: 911 call revealed in Dion documentary
An unsettling 911 call for Celine Dion is shown in the trailer for her upcoming “I Am” documentary.
An overhead view of the Strip is shown beneath text of this moment as a man’s voice is heard, “Celine? Celine.” Then a different voice, a woman and apparently that of a 911 operator, says, “911. What’s your emergency?”
No further explanation or context of this call is provided.
The clip is pinned on Dion’s official Instagram page.
The scene brings to light Dion’s battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, which she announced in December 2022 and is the reason her career has been put on hold. The documentary is due for release June 24 on Prime.
The documentary shows Dion on stage at various points in her career and also video of her with her family. “It’s not hard to do a show. It’s hard to cancel a show,” Dion says in the clip. “I miss it so much. The people, I miss them.”
With her sons Rene-Charles, Eddy and Nelson Angelil at her side, Dion has made several pop-up appearances at performances and hockey games over the past several months. Aside from her documentary, she is also being featured in a network prime-time special.
Dion is the subject of an exclusive interview with Hoda Kotb of NBC’s “Today” for a one-hour special scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Tuesday. Kotb and Dion chatted about a month ago in Las Vegas.
Kotb has said the headliner sings in the special. She related that Dion was concerned she might not live through the ordeal — a fear bolstered by the 911 call in the documentary teaser. Dion told Kotb she has been worried about her voice, and shares the possibility of a comeback and “her journey of coming back.”
Kotb visited Dion’s show during her days at the Colosseum and ran hard in the city during a week of “Today” shows in January 2016.
“I expected everyone to just keep to themselves, but there’s such a sense of joy and fun … it’s a place that likes to have a good time,” Kotb said at the time. “You walk through these lobbies, and you feel it. Everybody’s a hug. Everybody’s a something.”
Dion visited the Beatles “Love” on Friday, taking in the show for the last time with her sons. She belted a few seconds of “I’m Alive,” posed for pics and signed autographs backstage.
It was the family’s second appearance at a prominent show on the Strip within a month. Celine and her sons attended the Rolling Stones show at Allegiant Stadium on May 11.
SPS remains the reason Dion has not set new dates at Resorts World Theatre or on her paused “Courage” tour. But she can still bring it, vocally, even in short bursts. In the doc, she is shown in the studio, hitting a high note with her characteristic power, “Aaaaaa, yeaaaaaah!” Then she asks, “Is the sound man OK?”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
