Morgan Freeman has revealed the real reason why he always wears his signature gold earrings, and it is a darker explanation than you would expect.
The Hollywood actor, 87, is often seen wearing his trademark gold hoops, with the jewellery a part of his get-up since he burst onto the scene aged 49 with his big break Street Smart.
Since finding fame the star has never swapped out his classic gold hoops, yet rather than wearing them for a fashion statement the accessory is actually an insurance in case of the star’s untimely death.
Explaining the reasoning to fans in an Instagram post he penned: ‘These earrings. I get asked all the time about them.
‘The truth is, these are worth just enough for someone to buy me a coffin if I die in a strange place. That’s why sailors used to wear them and that’s why I do.’
During an interview with Fox News in 2016 Morgan also explained that he drew inspiration from Burt Lancaster after watching him in The Crimson Pirate, which tells the story of a fictional sailor in the Caribbean.
Morgan Freeman has revealed the real reason why he always wears his signature gold earrings, and it is a darker explanation than you would expect (pictured in 2019)
Since finding fame the star, 87, has never swapped out his classic gold hoops, yet the accessory is actually an insurance in case of the star’s untimely death (pictured in 1998)
He said: ‘When I was a kid, I saw a pirate movie with Burt Lancaster, who wore an earring. I thought that was sexy.
‘Then I learned that sailors wore gold earrings to pay for funerals if they died in foreign lands. I’m a sailor, so that nailed it.’
Morgan confessed he feels an ‘attachment to the sea’. Speaking to The Guardian he explained: ‘I always wanted an earring. It has to do with my attachment to the sea.
‘When I was around 35, I was separated from my wife, and she said, “I’m going to pierce your ear.” I’m an avid sailor, a dyed-in-the-wool blue-water man.”
‘When I was 30 years old, a man gave me a boat. It was in a reservoir in Vermont, and I learned to sail it. Then, I was hooked on sailing. That was in 1967, and I’ve been doing it ever since.’
It comes after Morgan caught the attention of fans after they noticed him wearing a singular black glove on his left hand at the 2025 Oscars.
The actor, who led an emotional tribute to his ‘dear friend’ and co-star Gene Hackman, kept his hands clasped behind his back for much of his TV appearance.
Taking to Twitter, fans speculated: ‘Morgan Freeman wears a glove on his left hand!!! What??? When were you going to tell me this!!’;
He said: ‘When I was a kid, I saw a pirate movie with Burt Lancaster, who wore an earring. I thought that was sexy. Then I learned that sailors wore gold earrings to pay for funerals if they died in foreign lands. I’m a sailor, so that nailed it’ (pictured 2024)
‘Why was Morgan Freeman wearing a black glove? #Oscars2025.’
However the star has been spotted with the glove for several years to help alleviate an agonising health issue.
The Se7en star previously revealed he suffers from fibromyalgia — a condition for which there is no cure — following nerve damage after a serious car crash.
In 2008, the vehicle he was driving flipped multiple times near his home in Charleston, Mississippi, with the actor having to be cut free by emergency workers before being airlifted to a hospital.
Morgan, who was 71 at the time of the accident, was reportedly ‘hospitalised for four days after the collision and his injuries included a broken arm and elbow’.
He told Esquire magazine in 2012 that it had also left his hand paralysed, with the condition causing pain ‘up and down the arm’.
‘That’s where it gets so bad. Excruciating.’
Fibromyalgia is thought to affect between 1.8million and 2.9million people in the UK and roughly 4 million adults in the US.
What causes the condition is unknown. But it is believed to be related to misfiring brain signals changing the way the nerves carry pain messages around the body.
It causes a range of symptoms including increased pain sensitivity, muscle stiffness, fatigue and problems concentrating, as well as low mood, according to the NHS.
There are limited treatments for fibromyalgia — and campaigners have long been fighting for further research into the condition.
