Heavy/Getty Gospel singer Mandisa at the 6th Annual KLOVE Fan Awards in May 2018
Nearly seven weeks after beloved “American Idol” alum Mandisa was found dead at her home near Nashville on April 18, 2024, it has been determined the Grammy-winning gospel singer died of “complications from class III obesity,” according to People and TMZ, which obtained copies of the autopsy report on June 4.
According to TMZ, the autopsy report stated that Mandisa — born Mandisa Lynn Hundley — weighed 488 pounds at the time of her death and her friends found her body in “a state of decomposition.” The report went on to say that the singer was “last known alive approximately three weeks” before she was found, per People.
Additionally, there were no signs of trauma to the singer’s neck and a toxicology report found nothing abnormal, TMZ said. Tennessee state medical examiner Dr. Feng Li confirmed the news to The Tennessean and said that as a result of their findings, Mandisa’s manner of death at age 47 was listed as natural.
According to the Obesity Medicine Association, “Class III Obesity” is the medically-preferred term for what was long called “Morbid Obesity,” which the OMA defined as “a serious health condition that results from an abnormally high body mass that is diagnosed by having a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 kg/m², a BMI of greater than 35 kg/m² with at least one serious Obesity-related condition, or being more than 100 pounds over ideal body weight.”
Mandisa’s Father Said His Daughter Was Found on the Floor of Her Bedroom
Once emergency medical services arrived on April 18 at Mandisa’s home in Franklin, Tennessee, she was pronounced dead, TMZ reported. The following day, a post on her official Facebook page delivered the news and asked for “prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
On April 22, per the Courier-Journal, Franklin police spokesperson Max Winitz told reporters, “At this time, there is no indication the death was the result of suspicious or criminal activity. The Franklin Police Department send its condolences to Hundley’s family, friends, and fans.”
Because Mandisa had been open about her struggles with depression in the past, social media was abuzz with rumors that her death was intentional. At a celebration of life ceremony held on April 27, Mandisa’s father, John D. Hundley, told attendees at Brentwood Baptist Church that based on conversations with a detective involved in the case and his own interactions with his daughter weeks before, he was confident that self-harm was not the cause of her death.
“I’ve heard different reports on the TV,” Hundley said, alluding to speculation about his daughter’s death. “Mandisa fell down in her bedroom. They found her on the floor.”
Hundley then explained that Mandisa was found on the left side of her bed, where there were “a couple of big rugs and some clothes” and that he found her phone sitting on the nightstand on the right side of her bed.
“There was no way for Mandisa to get around the bed and go up there and get a phone to call for help,” Hundley said. “She did not harm herself.”
Hundley also revealed during his time at the podium that his daughter “told me some time ago that she had gotten COVID-19, and she had been weak trying to get over that. But she was trying to press through.”
Mandisa Once Said She Was ‘Thankful’ Simon Cowell Mocked Her Weight on ‘American Idol’
A native of Citrus Heights, California, Mandisa rose to the Top 9 on season 5 of “American Idol,” which aired on FOX in 2006. The season produced a bevy of stars, including winner Taylor Hicks, runner-up Katharine McPhee, and finalists Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Paris Bennett and Elliott Yamin.
The “Idol” community was heartbroken by news of Mandisa’s death. On the April 29 episode of season 22, three longtime friends and fellow “Idol” alums paid tribute to her. Season 6 alum Melinda Doolittle, Danny Gokey from season 8, and Colton Dixon from season 11 appeared live to perform the song “Shackles (Praise You)” in her honor.
Though the show catapulted her to stardom in the gospel music industry, the lowest point of Mandisa’s “Idol” journey was likely when judge Simon Cowell mocked her for being overweight. After receiving a golden ticket for her audition, she left the room but cameras caught Cowell making fun of Mandisa’s weight, including asking producers if they had a “bigger stage.”
Mandisa saw his comments when she watched the show later, and many viewers hoped she would chew out Cowell the next time she saw him. But Mandisa decided instead to forgive him.
“Simon, a lot of people want me to say a lot of things to you,” she told him in a poignant monologue that aired on the show. “But this is what I want to say to you. Yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful. It really was. But, I want you to know that I’ve forgiven you. You don’t need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. And I figure if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I could certainly extend that same grace to you. So, I just wanted you to know that.”
“Mandisa, I’m humbled,” Cowell responded, getting up to embrace her. “Come here, give me a kiss.”
Several years later, Mandisa decided to get serious about losing weight, setting a goal to lose 100 pounds through diet and exercise while keeping fans updated on her blog. In a March 2009 post, she wrote that ever since Cowell’s remarks aired, “my weight has been scrutinized, scoffed at, and mocked.”
“That is the down side,” she continued. “The up side to all of the attention on my weight is that I have been able to be the voice of so many people who struggle in this area.”
In 2013, after keeping off her 100-pound weight loss for several years, she was inspired to release an album and anthem titled “Overcomer,” which she won a Grammy for. While shooting the music video, she told Entertainment Tonight that through her very public struggles with her weight, she learned she could be an inspiration to many fans who were dealing with similar challenges.
“‘Overcomer’ is about the fact that I am triumphing, I am overcoming the battles in my life,” she told ET. “It’s really an important part of what I consider myself called to do, is to encourage and inspire people (to remember), ‘Don’t look at how far you have to go, just one foot in front of the other. Don’t look back.'”