6 Rumors About Hollywood Medium Tyler Henry We Couldn't Ignore

Can he really communicate with the dead, or is he the biggest grifter of the 21st century? Many can't seem to figure out which category "Hollywood Medium" star Tyler Henry falls into. Henry has had his fair share of controversial moments over the years, and amid all the whispers about whether or not he's a genuine psychic, his predictions have been both woefully wrong and eerily accurate. Still, some are convinced that all the signs are there that the famed medium is a fake. Naturally, he's been the subject of many rumors — some rather unflattering — and critics far and wide have weighed in with their two cents.

An opinion piece published by the Skeptical Inquirer in 2024 criticized Henry's performance on his Netflix show, "Live From the Other Side," speculating that facing guests without any prior preparation shows he's anything but a reliable medium. The piece also questions whether Henry's advice to clients is always sound, especially because he told Australian TV personality Harry Jowsey that he should continue his work after the latter expressed a desire to take a breather.

Henry, meanwhile, has always insisted that he simply wants to help people and that he couldn't stop his work even if he wanted to. "If I want to take three weeks off, by week No. 2, I start feeling a little funny and even funnier and even funnier," he told The Cut in 2024, adding that it's like being "spiritually constipated." He also appears unbothered by critics and skeptics. "I embrace skepticism," he told The Seattle Times. Whether Henry can really communicate with the dead remains a hot topic, and rumors about his abilities abound.

Tyler Henry might get some things right about his celebrity clients, but many are skeptical that he actually gets his information from the other side. In fact, there are entire Reddit forums dedicated to discussing Henry's readings and whether they are indeed the product of clairvoyancy or simply a good old Google search. "I had watched several readings of his on YouTube, and to me it was very clear that he was cold reading," one Reddit user penned. For those not well-versed on the subject, cold reading refers to subtly gathering personal information about the person in front of you during a reading and using that information to appear all-knowing about their lives. There are no real spirits involved, only keen attention to detail.

Some Reddit users have been candid about the fact that they don't quite know what to believe, given that Henry's shows can easily be edited to make him look more authentic than he really is. Many continue to regard Henry with a healthy dose of skepticism. "A lot of what he tells people could be found on social media. He also prompts for the people to elaborate," one noted, adding, "What I like is that the people believe him, and it seems like he gives them hope, love, and closure." An opinion piece published by the Skeptical Inquirer shares the same sentiments, noting that Henry tends to ask his guests a barrage of questions that are usually quite broad in nature, meaning that there's a good chance at least one of them will answer in the affirmative.

While Tyler Henry has dealt with some tragedies of his own, some critics have accused him of profiting from other people's grief. When his Netflix show, "Life After Death with Tyler Henry," debuted on Netflix in 2022, skeptics had plenty of opinions, and rumors were rife that Henry was getting paid millions to prey on people's grief. "The show is so obviously fake and scripted it's not even believable. Why does Netflix give these grief vampires an audience to broadcast their pseudoscientific garbage?" one Reddit user questioned. Others concurred, with one pointing out that grieving people are especially vulnerable to getting conned by fake mediums.

It isn't just Henry's Netflix show that sparked these rumors. His former show, "Hollywood Medium," also raised some eyebrows, especially when Henry told American football player Michael Sam in 2016 that he didn't sense his brother, who went missing in 1998, on the other side, giving Sam hope that his long-lost brother might still be alive. One skeptic took to the comment section to say what many were probably thinking, penning, "Don't say he's alive if you don't have 100% proof. You are giving this poor guy false hope."

When it comes to what celebrities have said about Tyler Henry and his predictions, responses vary, though it's worth noting that he's managed to convert quite a few skeptics. The thing about having celebrity clients, however, is that a treasure trove of information about your subject is just one Google search away. Therefore, the fact that Henry has mostly worked with celebs has naturally caused some healthy skepticism.

There have been multiple instances where he seemingly did not know the A-lister in front of him, but many skeptics say they don't buy it. An opinion piece published by Jezebel in 2018 called Henry's apparent cluelessness as to who some of his famous guests are a "scam," decrying it as "just plain rude." The piece also noted that Henry making a big fuss about not knowing which celebs he's meeting beforehand, even if he recognizes them, is part of an attempt to convince loyal viewers that he's the real deal and couldn't possibly have done any research on his subject beforehand. Jezebel isn't the only outlet that's published an opinion piece alluding to this. An article published by the Skeptical Inquirer concurred, noting that, at the very least, it's possible for Henry to have a quick conversation with his guests before the cameras start rolling or to excuse himself to the restroom to do a quick Google search.

Other skeptics have taken to Reddit to speculate that Henry's celebrity clients might be in on the con. "He's doing fake readings for 'celebrities' who haven't gotten any work lately," one critic said. "For them, it's an acting job and a commercial. For him, it's an acting job and a commercial."

Not everyone agrees with the skeptics when it comes to Tyler Henry's psychic abilities. Some swear he's the real deal. True believers can be found defending Henry on Reddit forums where cynics are raising their doubts, and some of his celebrity clients have, in the aftermath of their readings, confirmed that what he'd predicted had come to pass.

One such instance was in 2025, when actress and TV personality Ricki Lake took to Instagram after the devastating Los Angeles fires to share that Henry had accurately predicted that her house would burn down three months prior. "The great @tylerhenrymedium called it! Less than three months ago, on Oct 15th, 2024, Ross and I were on Tyler's show, and guys, he SAW the fire," she wrote. Indeed, during an October 2024 episode of "Live From the Other Side," Henry, in a jumble of words, appeared to predict that this would come to pass, telling Lake and her husband, Ross Burningham, "We're going to end up finding that there's a story where there was a house fire or something along those lines, a fire risk" (via Instagram).

Lake is one of many true believers, which also includes the producer of "Hollywood Medium," Michael Corbett, who told TV Insider he was as big a skeptic as they came when he first met Henry but that the latter knew things about him during his reading that he couldn't possibly have found anywhere on the internet. "Tyler tapped right into two people I knew who had committed suicide and gave me horrifyingly shocking details about who they were and how they died — things that could not be researched in any way," Corbett said, adding that he decided then and there to put Henry on air.

Seeing is believing, as the old adage goes, and some doctors have grown curious about whether or not there might be physical evidence of Tyler Henry's psychic ability. One such doctor is Drew Pinsky, who made an appearance on "Hollywood Medium" in 2019 and subjected Henry to a quantitative EEG. Henry had previously done a reading for Pinsky, which the latter admitted had been very accurate. Still, he said he remained neutral on whether or not being able to communicate with the dead is an actual skill, noting that, as a scientist, he was interested in what the data of the EEG showed. As it turned out, there was something there.

Henry was subjected to the quantitative EEG while doing a reading for TV personality Steve-O, and the test picked up on some unusual activity in the clairvoyant's brain. Pinsky noted that Henry wasn't in a "normal neurological state" as he did Steve-O's reading, adding that he observed "very unusual eye movements" and "a frontal releasing movement" during the test, per E! News. Additionally, he noticed that Henry's brainwaves indicated an almost dreamlike state while he was doing the reading.

In a subsequent interview with ExtraTV, Henry said he was very open to doing the test because he, too, is very curious about what goes on inside his brain when he does a reading. "My brain waves definitely went through some massive changes that weren't normal, and they didn't align with what was being seen as far as me communicating and talking and interacting with Steve-O," Henry explained. "My brain looked like it was asleep."

Something avid fans might not know about Tyler Henry is that he has dealt with his fair share of health issues. At 18, he suffered a ministroke, and doctors discovered that he had a brain cyst. Those who are open-minded about Henry's psychic abilities might find themselves asking whether his brain cyst might have anything to do with his ability to communicate with the dead. As it turns out, Henry himself has pondered this.

"I have wondered if it relates to my ability at all," he told The Cut during a 2024 interview. He first experienced symptoms from the brain cyst when he starred in "Hollywood Medium." It wasn't pleasant — not only did he have to deal with terrible headaches, but he also had to pay frequent visits to the doctor to drain the cyst to prevent it from becoming too big and causing even more serious symptoms. Henry also has cysts on his lungs, which often led to additional doctor's appointments. He admitted that he's wondered whether his physical ailments might be a result of his psychic ability. "It's the biggest question I have: Why, if this is something of a gift, does it come at a cost?" he told the outlet.

In 2025, Henry underwent two brain surgeries within the span of six months, with doctors finally being able to remove the brain cyst that had been plaguing him all his life. He provided fans with an update on Instagram, letting them know he was taking some time off to heal, but that his "prognosis is great." Given Henry's hypothesis that his brain cyst might have been responsible for his abilities, one can't help but wonder whether his psychic ability survived the surgery. Only time will tell.