Former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has metastasized into his bones, his son Hunter Biden revealed in a wide-ranging interview with BBC Newsnight.
“The cancer has spread, is metastasized into his bones and further. It’s very painful. It’s very debilitating in many respects,” Hunter Biden said during the Friday broadcast.
Hunter described watching his father’s decline as deeply distressing, saying it has been “really sad to watch” the former president suffer through his illness.
“My dad is, to this day, the centre of our family,” Hunter said, adding that Joe Biden remains “the best father, the best husband, the best grandfather.”
Hunter also expressed a wish that his father would be more open about his pain, saying, “The only thing that I say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more.”
The Biden family announced in May 2025 that the former president had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 with bone metastases, placing it among the most aggressive classifications of the disease.
Beyond his father’s health, Hunter Biden addressed the sweeping presidential pardon he received from Joe Biden in December 2024, which covered federal convictions on gun and tax charges and reversed earlier pledges that no pardon would be granted.
“Was it good for our Constitution? Was it good for the American people? Was it good for my dad’s legacy? No, on all counts,” Hunter told the BBC, acknowledging the political damage the decision caused.
Despite that admission, Hunter said he remains deeply thankful for the pardon, stating, “I am the most privileged person, as it relates to that, that there could possibly be. I was one of one, and I’m eternally grateful for it.”
Hunter confirmed that the pardon was never discussed between him and his father beforehand, explaining, “There is no way that you can have those kinds of discussions that would not become public.”
Hunter also revealed that both he and his stepmother Jill Biden were “shocked” by Joe Biden’s performance during the 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, which accelerated calls for the incumbent to exit the race.
Watching from his home in California, Hunter said he immediately sensed something was deeply wrong with his father’s condition that night, stating simply, “I was shocked. I knew something was wrong.”
The interview also touched on Hunter’s own history of addiction, during which he described drinking nearly a gallon of vodka a day while smoking crack cocaine almost every 15 minutes at his lowest point.
He said there was “nothing glamorous about it,” adding that during that period he “wasn’t reaching for anything except oblivion.”
