Hunter Biden choked with emotion as he told how it has been “really sad to watch” his father Joe Biden’s battle with stage 4 prostate cancer.

The 56-year-old had to pause when talking in a TV interview about the former president’s condition, which former first lady Jill Biden recently said is something the former president will have to live with as the cancer metastasized to his bones before it was discovered.

“It’s really tough, Paddy, that’s the real answer,” Hunter Biden told BBC Newsnight presenter Paddy O’Connell. “My dad, in our family…excuse me,” he said, taking a moment to clear his throat.

“My dad is and to this day remains the center of our family, not just because of who he is, the public person, but completely because of who he is to each one of us. Down to his grandchildren and his great-grandchild. He is our rock,” he said.

“He’s been there for each one of us in a way that’s hard for me to even possibly articulate and explain. “It’s really, really hard. And it’s sad to watch.”

“The only thing I say about my dad, about his health right now, is that I wish he would complain more. Because it’s not good. The cancer has spread, has metastasized into his bones and further; it’s very painful. And it’s very debilitating in many respects. But he’s still out there, he’s still doing his thing. And he so believes in this country,” he added.

What Do We Know About Joe Biden’s Conditions?

The former president discovered he had cancer after reporting urinary symptoms that led doctors to find a small nodule on his prostate.

In May 2025, his office announced that he had been “diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone”—an aggressive form of the disease.

Since then, he has undergone radiation therapy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Radiation Oncology clinic and hormone therapy.

The latest update on his condition came from wife Jill Biden. Speaking on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast she said that, despite the seriousness of the diagnosis, Joe Biden continues fighting against the disease—but this is something he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

“That diagnosis can be cured,” she said, about treatable prostate cancer—which is not the form Joe Biden has. “You can go through radiation or whatever. You can be cured, and you’ll be fine. Unfortunately for Joe, it metastasized to his bones, which means that he will forever live with cancer.”

She explained that Joe Biden needs to be tested every three months and be constantly monitored. But she added that, “he’s doing OK.”

She denied claims that the former president knew and hid his disease while he was still in office, saying that symptoms manifested slowly and gradually.

What Else Did Hunter Biden Talk About?

The Pardon

Hunter Biden also talked about Joe Biden’s pardoning him before leaving office, saying it was “not good” for the former president’s legacy or for the nation, but defended his father’s decision.

Joe Biden granted his son a full and unconditional pardon in December 2024, just before leaving the White House, claiming that Hunter Biden had been “selectively and unfairly prosecuted.”

Hunter Biden was pardoned for a federal gun conviction and any federal offenses committed between 2014 and 2024.

“It’s something that is easily criticized and for good reason,” he told the BBC. “It’s not fair…All I know is that I’m grateful that he did it for me.” While he said he understood the criticism, he argued: “What would you have thought of my dad if he did not do that for me.”

He also said that his father’s decision was motivated by a desire to protect him from becoming a target of the incoming Trump administration. “I was the only one in the world that could have gotten what I got from the only person in the world who could give it, my father,” he said.

He said he and his father did not discuss the pardoning before it was granted. “There is no way that you can have those kinds of discussions that would not become public,” he said.

Addiction

The 56-year-old also discussed his battle with addiction, speaking of a time when he used to drink almost a gallon of vodka a day while smoking crack cocaine almost every 15 minutes.

“It was hell on earth,” he said. “There’s nothing glamorous about it.”

Opening up about how he felt at the time, he said he “wasn’t reaching for anything except oblivion.”