{"id":2463798,"date":"2026-06-17T13:50:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2463798"},"modified":"2026-06-17T13:50:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:50:57","slug":"worlds-ugliest-man-has-disease-that-turns-muscles-into-bone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/worlds-ugliest-man-has-disease-that-turns-muscles-into-bone\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;World&#8217;s ugliest man&#8217; has disease that turns muscles into bone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F06%2Fnewspress-collage-hffc0m0ny-1781630193988.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261781615846\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Godfrey Baguma is the first to proclaim it: \u201cI am the ugliest man in the world! The whole world!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back in 2002, Godfrey, now 63, took part in the competition for Uganda\u2019s ugliest person and won.<\/p>\n<p>While most people would be pretty heartbroken to earn such a title, Godfrey lives with an extremely rare life threatening and condition called fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), also known as \u201cstone man disease\u201d \u2014 so standing out with such a superlative made him feel special. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I won the title for being the ugliest man, I was like, this is who I am,\u201d he says in an exclusive clip from a new episode of \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/go.tlc.com\/show\/most-extreme-humans-tlc-atve-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Most Extreme Humans<\/a>,\u201d airing Wednesday, June 17 at 9pm ET on TLC. \u201cI\u2019ve made it this far, I\u2019m still good for something. It gave me confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">TLC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is FOP?<\/h2>\n<p>The muscles and connective tissue of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/genetics\/condition\/fibrodysplasia-ossificans-progressiva\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">people with FOP<\/a> gradually turn to bone over the course of their life. This process starts in childhood, when the neck and shoulders become frozen, and gradually moves down through the limbs, restricting movement.<\/p>\n<p>If muscles around the mouth and jaw turn to bone, it can block speech and eating. Bone expansion around the ribcage can limit breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis disease attacks the muscles. They grow and turn into bone there is a lot of pain,\u201d Baguma said.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s especially frightening is that any kind of injury (like a fall or surgery), and even viruses like the flu, can cause bone to grow even faster. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Even injections like <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/rarediseases.org\/rare-diseases\/fibrodysplasia-ossificans-progressiva\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vaccinations or numbing<\/a> at the dentist\u2019s office might cause extra bone to form.<\/p>\n<p>Swelling is a major problem of FOP as new bone presses on lymphatic vessels, obstructing the flow of lymphatic fluid, and causing the liquid to pool in a limb.<\/p>\n<p>Baguma\u2019s condition is extremely rare, affecting one in a million people worldwide, with only several hundred cases ever recorded.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">TLC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>People with FOP have some options for treatment, including a drug that limits new bone formation, which was approved by the FDA in 2023. They may also take antibiotics because of their increased risk for respiratory infection, and corticosteroids to help with pain and swelling.<\/p>\n<p>People like Baguma also need special shoes and braces to help walk and go about daily life as bone stiffens the limbs.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Godfrey\u2019s story<\/h2>\n<p>Baguma was born in a small village in Uganda, where he faced ridicule and discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the years, many people have called me \u2018gorilla,&#8217;\u201d he says in the new episode. \u201cSome call me \u2018monkey,\u2019 some call me \u2018baboon.\u2019 This is normal. I\u2019m used to it now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He first noticed something was wrong when he experienced abnormal swelling to his cheek at age 10.<\/p>\n<p>Still, he went undiagnosed well into adulthood, going on to have eight children \u2014 six with the love of his life, Namande Kate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told her that I didn\u2019t choose to look the way I do and that if she feels I am a burden, she is free to leave me,\u201d he previously told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2015\/06\/22\/ugandas-ugliest-man-has-become-a-father-for-the-eighth-time-5257601\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KFM<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">TLC<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, she told <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishmirror.ie\/news\/weird-news\/man-severely-deformed-head-who-9131244\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishmirror.ie\/news\/weird-news\/man-severely-deformed-head-who-9131244\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barcroft<\/a>: \u201cGodfrey\u2019s not handsome on the outside, but he has a good heart. I wish people would see him the way I see him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>About a decade ago, Dr. Tony Wilson, the head of medicine at Mbarara Hospital in Uganda, performed an MRI and finally diagnosed him. He was reassured that he could not pass the condition on to his children.<\/p>\n<p>All the while, he has refused to let this condition define him. He\u2019s pursued <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Kabyanzomedia1\/videos\/omwenzi-godfrey-baguma-ssebabi-wa-uganda-ft-amarula-family\/1624772731228507\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">music<\/a>, motivational speaking and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/foptrust.org\/ugliest-man-with-physical-deformity-finds-love-three-times-what-is-fibrodysplasia-ossificans-progressiva-fop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comedy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>He encourages others with messages of self-acceptance and striving to overcome adversity and systemic discrimination.<\/p>\n<p>Baguma shares his story on \u201cMost Extreme Humans,\u201d a new show on TLC telling the stories of people living with rare medical conditions and overcoming the odds.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Godfrey Baguma is the first to proclaim it: \u201cI am the ugliest man in the world! The whole world!\u201d Back in 2002, Godfrey, now 63, took part in the competition for Uganda\u2019s ugliest person and won. While most people would be pretty heartbroken to earn such a title, Godfrey lives with an extremely rare life [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2463799,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[468170,347836,25404,22271,306918,43770,21913],"class_list":["post-2463798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-disability","tag-diseases","tag-exclusive","tag-health","tag-human-interest","tag-tlc","tag-tv"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Worlds-ugliest-man-has-disease-that-turns-muscles-into-bone.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2463798"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2463800,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2463798\/revisions\/2463800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2463799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2463798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2463798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2463798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}