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The Grammy-award winning singer met with the Fortune 500 <\/a>exec at Apple\u2019s sprawling California campus to discuss 2024 Super Bowl plans, and after a lengthy tour, suggested Cook invest in a new mode of transportation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI gave him a pair of skates,\u201d Usher recalled to Fortune<\/em>. \u201cI told him, you\u2019ve got enough space here, maybe you should use them in the hallway. Get you where you wanna go quicker.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The R&B icon, who made history as the most-watched Super Bowl performance of all time, infamously sang, danced, and entertained 130 million viewers at this year\u2019s game\u2013all while wearing a pair of roller skates.<\/p>\n Two main results from Usher and Cook\u2019s meeting emerged: an instant meme of Cook wearing a t-shirt<\/a> with Usher\u2019s face ironed onto it, plus suggestions for how to help the approximately 1.45 million Americans <\/a>currently living with type 1 diabetes<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat t-shirt is probably going to be valued for millions someday so I\u2019m hoping that I can get one,\u201d the singer joked in an interview with Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n Tim Cook appears in latest Apple Music Halftime Show ad pic.twitter.com\/RImpFmv6nJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Apple Hub (@theapplehub) February 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n After his star-studded Super Bowl <\/a>performance, Usher says he\u2019s now readying his talents for a different stage: Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n Usher is set to join a contingent led by French pharma giant Sanofi<\/a> that will meet with legislators in Washington, D.C. later this month to discuss the importance of early screening for type 1 diabetes, a condition that\u2019s thought to be caused by an autoimmune disease that leads the body to mistakenly attack insulin-producing cells.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a cause that\u2019s personal for the performer, who has been an outspoken advocate for more awareness about the condition after his child was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2014 at age six.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy child was urinating a lot and was a bit lethargic and very tired,\u201d he explained to Fortune<\/em>. \u201cThere were no real explanations behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n Usher described the diabetes diagnosis experience as \u201cshocking\u201d since no other relatives were known to have had the condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy grandmother had type 2 diabetes, and I could remember drawing insulin and watching her take her blood sugar levels and also having to watch her administer insulin,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo I did understand the treatment of diabetes but not type 1, especially not for an infant.\u201d<\/p>\n Ten years later, Usher is now a paid spokesperson for Sanofi<\/a>, ranked #299 on the Fortune Global 500<\/a>, and hopes to assist other parents and caregivers through a process he describes as \u201coverwhelming.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n According to new research<\/a> released Wednesday from Beyond Type 1<\/a>, a nonprofit cofounded by singer Nick Jonas, 79% of adults with type 1 diabetes said they felt underprepared and overwhelmed when they first learned of their diagnosis. \u201cThe Cost of Not Knowing\u201d<\/a> study, commissioned by Sanofi and conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 U.S. adults with type 1 diabetes and 1,000 caregivers to children, found that 88% of patients required emergency care for their type 1 symptoms before or during their diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n The number of Americans with type 1 diabetes is expected to jump to 2.1 million people by 2040\u2013a nearly eight-fold increase<\/a> since 1990, according<\/a> to Beyond<\/a> Type 1. The financial toll of that diagnosis can be steep; half of respondents with type 1 diabetes spent at least $5,000 on emergency care, and nearly a quarter reported spending at least $10,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMost Americans don\u2019t have $1,000 in their savings account, so it\u2019s something that could very easily put a family into extraordinary financial distress, causing people to take on debt,\u201d Kristian Hurley, senior vice president of programs, advocacy, and health equity at Beyond Type 1, told Fortune<\/em>.<\/p>\n Type 1 and type 2 diabetes cost Americans $413 billion per year in medical expenses and reduced productivity, according<\/a> to the American Diabetes Association. While most common in children and young adults, type 1 can happen to anyone at any age, and about 90% of those diagnosed had no family history, according to research nonprofit JDRF<\/a>. Hurley said those with type 1 diabetes have described it as \u201cconstantly having a math problem\u201d to solve when checking insulin levels and medication.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cType 1 doesn\u2019t take a day off, so in everything that you do, you have to be able to make sure that you\u2019re supporting your needs as it relates to insulin,\u201d Kristian Hurley said. \u201cIt\u2019s a full-time job.\u201d<\/p>\n As Usher prepares to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill later this month, he says he\u2019s \u201cexcited\u201d for the opportunity to share his family\u2019s story.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf I am to use this very complicated experience that I have for something that is positive, and to bring about positive support, then I want to be there for it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m there simply to share my story; I\u2019m a storyteller.\u201d<\/p>\n The mission is not new for the singer; last year, Usher and Sanofi launched<\/a> the \u201cThe 1 Pledge,\u201d<\/a> a nationwide educational campaign to encourage screening for type 1 diabetes before noticeable symptoms arise. <\/p>\n Though he describes the impact of T1D on his family as \u201ccomplicated,\u201d he hopes the visit to D.C. will be a collaborative way to educate Americans on early screening.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI make music and I actually tell stories, but this one is one that I feel is necessary and could potentially help a lot of people,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like sharing my story could potentially bring support to people who really need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Heading to Capitol Hill\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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