Betty Who Was ‘The Sickest I’ve Ever Been’ While Battling Nasty E. coli Infection

Australian musician Betty Who shared on Instagram that she was battling a severe E. coli infection, which led to her missing the inaugural three-day Broadway-themed music event, The Festival in New York's Hudson Valley over the weekend. The 34-year-old artist, whose real name is Jessica Newham, uses she/they pronouns, wrote, "hiii i’m just coming up for air from my big week. i was feeling sick before i left for @thebroadwayfest but i flew on thursday with every intention of toughing it out! when i landed in ny, i knew something was wrong and that i needed a doctor."

The festival, described as "Coachella For Broadway," took place from Friday (Aug. 14) to Sunday (Aug. 16) at the Hutton Brickyards, a riverfront hotel overlooking the Hudson River in New York’s Ulster County. Prominent Broadway stars such as Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Alex Newell, Eva Noblezada, Adam Pascal, and Anthony Rapp graced the event.

However, Who was forced to withdraw due to the infection, which the Cleveland Clinic defines as a "group of bacteria that can cause infections in your gut (GI tract), urinary tract and other parts of your body." The bacteria can often reside in your gut without causing harm, but certain strains can lead to symptoms like watery diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting, and fever.

Who expressed her devastation at having to miss the festival, stating, "everyone at the festival was amazing... they took such good care of me and were so gracious about re-programming all my songs at the last minute. i was devastated tbh." Upon returning home, she discovered she had contracted E. coli and described her symptoms as the "sickest I've ever been."

She mentioned feeling much better after nine days of the infection, but still not fully recovered. To pass the time, Who attended the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament. She made her Broadway debut in 2023 in Hadestown as queen of the underworld Persephone and released her most recent full-length album, Big! in 2022. The same year saw the release of her EP Love Yourself.