Heartbreaking: We Just Learned A Lot More About Bruce Willis’ Aphasia Diagnosis

I reported just the other day that Hollywood legend Bruce Willis publicly shared his diagnosis with aphasia, a cognitive issue that affects the ability to recognize and use words. It’s a tragic and awful condition.

That information was shared via his daughter, Rumer, in an Instagram post, which read in part:

“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”

Now, additional information is coming to light. Reporting over at The Daily Wire is showing that this affliction dates back several months and includes far more than just verbal issues. 

“Directors, including Mike Burns (“Out of Death”) and Jesse V. Johnson (“White Elephant”), said they noticed Willis wasn’t his usual self during recent projects. They said his lines had to be shortened and monologues eliminated because he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to say. Sources claimed the “Pulp Fiction” star had to wear an “earwig” device which would allow his lines to be delivered to him rather than memorized.

Burns said he told the screenwriter that Willis’s’ part in “Out of Death” would need to be cut “by about 5 pages,” The Los Angeles Times reported.

“I could see it firsthand and I realized that there was a bigger issue at stake here and why I had been asked to shorten his lines,” Burns told the publication.

Burns said the incident made him hesitant to work with Willis in the future, but he did decide to sign on to direct “Wrong Place,” despite being “concerned” about the actor’s health. The director said he was told Willis was “a whole different person,” and recalls how he noticed a decline when filming began in October 2021.”

So that revelation shows that Willis’ condition appeared at least by October 2021. What else happened in 2021? That’s for others to decide, but any time an otherwise healthy person develops a rare and disastrous medical condition it opens the door to questions. In addition to the decreased ability to use and process language, The Daily Wire also noted this:

“Two insiders allege that on the set of “Hard Kill,” Willis fired a gun that was loaded with a blank before reading the line that would have alerted his co-star what was happening. 

“I’m supposed to think my life is about to end, and then my dad steps in to save the day,” co-star Lala Kent told the Times, describing how her back was facing Willis in the scene. The actor was supposed to deliver a line that served as Kent’s cue to duck before he fired the gun. Instead, he shot the gun before delivering the line, so Kent never ducked.”

Not only is Willis confused with words, but his entire mental capacity sounds seriously affected. And regardless of whether Willis is a celebrity or not, he is a husband, father, and seems like a decent guy. It’s a shame that his last moments will be impacted by a frightening and tragic condition.