Sophie Cunningham turned a throwaway joke about a cold sore into a raw, highly public conversation about herpes, body image and stigma. What began as a light moment on a podcast quickly became an emotional flashpoint for fans, critics and people quietly living with the herpes simplex virus.
Her candid, sometimes chaotic explanation of what she is dealing with, and how she talks about it, has forced a broader look at how athletes handle visible health issues in a culture that still treats herpes as a punchline. The reaction around the WNBA guard shows how a single offhand remark can collide with deep shame and misinformation that surround a very common infection.
The podcast moment that lit the fuse
The controversy started when Sophie Cunningham, speaking casually on a podcast with a friend, blurted out that she had herpes and warned people not to kiss her. In the middle of a loose back-and-forth, she joked about sharing ChapStick, then pivoted into a startling admission that she believed she had contracted the herpes simplex virus type 1, better known as HSV-1, after a recent encounter that left her with a visible sore on her lip. The way she framed it, half laughing and half warning, made the moment feel both confessional and performative, which is exactly why it spread so quickly.
Listeners heard Cunningham lean into the shock value of the word “herpes,” then try to explain that she was really talking about a cold sore, a common manifestation of HSV-1 that many people carry without realizing it. Her remark that she had herpes, followed by a joking “do not kiss me,” was captured and replayed across social media, with clips highlighting the instant when she claimed, “I have herpes,” and then tried to walk through how she thought she got it as a WNBA guard navigating life in the spotlight.
Clarifying that it was a cold sore, not a diagnosis
As the conversation went on, Cunningham tried to clarify that she was not announcing a new lifelong sexually transmitted infection, but describing a cold sore that had flared up on her mouth. She emphasized that the sore was on her lip, not a genital lesion, and that she believed it was HSV-1, which is typically spread through oral contact like kissing or sharing items that touch the mouth. Her tone shifted from gleeful overshare to something closer to damage control as she realized how her words might land with people listening only to the audio.
She acknowledged that the way she initially shouted “I have herpes” had come out wrong and that she was really talking about a common cold sore that many people experience at some point in their lives. That distinction, between a dramatic-sounding confession and a relatively routine viral flare, became central to the debate that followed. In later discussion, she stressed that it was a cold sore on, medically linked to herpes but not the sexually transmitted scenario many people immediately imagined.
How Cunningham described getting HSV-1
Cunningham did not just stop at naming the virus, she also walked listeners through how she thought she picked it up. In one episode of the series, she said she believed she contracted HSV-1 after passing a drink back and forth, suggesting that sharing cups or similar items could have exposed her to the virus. She framed the story as a cautionary tale about casual contact, laughing at herself while also warning others about how easy it can be to catch something that then shows up on your face at the worst possible time.
Her description of the timeline, from sharing a drink to noticing a tingling sensation and then a visible blister, matched the classic pattern of a cold sore outbreak. Cunningham even gave the sore a nickname, jokingly calling it “Herpy” as she tried to normalize the experience and take some of the fear out of the word herpes. That mix of humor and vulnerability, as she recounted how she thought she got HSV-1 from sharing, set the tone for how she would keep talking about the sore in the days that followed.
Why the word “herpes” hit so hard online
Once clips of the podcast hit social platforms, the single word “herpes” did most of the work. Fans and casual viewers who saw only a few seconds of video or heard a short audio snippet reacted to the shock of a professional athlete casually announcing an infection that is still heavily stigmatized. Some people praised the bluntness, arguing that hearing a young WNBA player speak so openly about a virus that affects millions could help dismantle shame.
Others recoiled, calling the bit gross or unnecessary and accusing Cunningham of using a serious health condition as a punchline. The split was clear in the way social media users described the moment, with some calling it refreshingly authentic and others labeling it unpleasant or attention seeking. Reports on the reaction noted that fans and viewers were sharply divided, a reminder that even a joking reference to herpes can tap into deep cultural discomfort.
Herpes, cold sores and what HSV-1 actually is
Part of the confusion around Cunningham’s comments comes from how poorly understood HSV-1 still is. Herpes simplex virus type 1 is a strain of the Herpes Simplex Virus that most often presents as cold sores on or around the lips, and it is extremely common worldwide. Many people contract it in childhood through nonsexual contact, then carry it for life with occasional outbreaks triggered by stress, illness or sun exposure. When Cunningham said she believed she had HSV-1 on her mouth, she was describing a scenario that is medically routine, even if the language she used made it sound more dramatic.
Medical guidance has long emphasized that cold sores are contagious when active and that people should avoid kissing or sharing items like utensils, lip balm or drinks during a flare. Reporting on Cunningham’s remarks pointed out that she was likely joking about having HSV-1, a strain that is linked to environmental triggers and stress rather than any moral failing. That context matters, because it undercuts the idea that a cold sore is evidence of reckless behavior and instead frames it as a manageable, if annoying, health issue.
Playing through a flare as a WNBA professional
For Cunningham, the timing of the outbreak intersected with her identity as a high profile athlete. As a guard in the WNBA, she is used to cameras zooming in on her face during games, media sessions and promotional appearances. A visible sore on her lip is not just a private annoyance, it is something that can be screenshotted, memed and dissected by strangers. That reality helps explain why she might choose to address it head on, even in a joking way, rather than wait for someone else to zoom in and speculate.
Her warning that people should not kiss her, delivered with a laugh, also reflects the practical side of managing an active HSV-1 lesion in close social settings. She made it clear that she did not want anyone else’s lips touching hers while the sore was present, a line that was repeated in coverage of the podcast. One account of the episode described how Sophie Cunningham told not to kiss her, a line that captured both the humor and the underlying health message she was trying to send.
Humor, stigma and the limits of joking about STIs
Cunningham’s instinct to nickname her sore “Herpy” and laugh about it fits a broader pattern of public figures using humor to defuse embarrassment. Joking about a cold sore can make it feel less scary, especially for younger fans who might be dealing with the same thing in silence. At the same time, turning herpes into a bit risks reinforcing the idea that it is something to be mocked, rather than a common virus that deserves straightforward, stigma free discussion.
The mixed reaction to her comments shows how thin that line can be. Some viewers saw a WNBA player using comedy to normalize a health issue, while others heard someone trivializing a condition that can cause real emotional distress. Coverage of the moment highlighted that Cunningham’s lighthearted approach left audiences split, with one widely shared piece noting how a herpes admission from could be read as either refreshing honesty or uncomfortable oversharing depending on the listener’s own experiences.
Fans, critics and the culture around athletes’ bodies
The way fans responded to Cunningham’s remarks also reflects a broader cultural tension around how much access people feel entitled to when it comes to athletes’ bodies. On one hand, professional players are expected to be open books, sharing injuries, illnesses and personal struggles in the name of authenticity and relatability. On the other, any perceived misstep in how they talk about those issues can trigger swift backlash, especially when sex, infection or anything labeled “gross” is involved.
In Cunningham’s case, some supporters argued that her willingness to say “herpes” out loud, even clumsily, was a step toward normalizing conversations that too often happen only in private. Critics countered that she was being flippant about a virus that many people associate with painful stigma and difficult disclosure conversations. Reports on the fallout emphasized that Star Sophie Cunningham her herpes talk, capturing how the same words can land as empowering or off putting depending on who is listening.
What Cunningham’s candor could change
Regardless of where people land on her delivery, Cunningham has forced a conversation that usually stays in the shadows. By tying her own experience of a cold sore to the broader language of herpes and HSV-1, she has inadvertently highlighted how much confusion still surrounds the virus and how quickly shame can flare alongside a physical outbreak. Her story underscores the need for clearer public education that separates moral judgment from medical reality and explains, in plain language, what it means to live with a common infection.
There is also a lesson here about how athletes and other public figures can talk about sensitive health issues without either sensationalizing them or pretending they do not exist. Cunningham’s attempt to correct herself in real time, explaining that she was dealing with a cold sore and that her initial phrasing had come out wrong, shows how messy that process can be. Later coverage noted that as the conversation continued, Cunningham clarified her and tried to draw a line between a dramatic soundbite and the everyday reality of managing HSV-1. In doing so, she may have opened the door for more nuanced, less fearful conversations about herpes, even if her first attempt at candor came wrapped in a joke.
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