Since Bruce Willis announced he was retiring from acting due to a diagnosis of aphasia, he has understandably been absent from public life. The rare disorder affected his ability to focus, memorize lines and interact with people.
After months away, his family recently announced he is dealing with frontotemporal dementia. The sad diagnosis offers no hope for recovery and a grim outlook since it has no treatment or cure. Unfortunately, on the rare occasion that Bruce Willis is out in public, the paparazzi as well as curious well-wishers don’t take into consideration his condition when attempting to interact with him. Bruce’s wife Emma Heming Willis recently took to social media with a sternly worded, yet understandable request. We will see if the paparazzi comply. Check this out.
Actor Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, posted a plea online over the weekend asking reporters to leave her husband alone following his recent frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
Frontotemporal dementia typically starts with personality changes, including hyper-aggressive and hyper-sexual behavior, experts say, and then it progresses to memory loss. The disease is caused by atrophy of a person’s frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. There is no cure for the disease.
Bruce Willis’ Wife Tells Paparazzi to Stop Yelling at Him After Dementia Diagnosis: Let Him Get ‘From Point A to Point B Safely’ https://t.co/Hso8CKVKY3
— Variety (@Variety) March 5, 2023
Sadly, no one knew Willis had the condition until it was way too late. The condition usually stems from a previous brain injury, and sometimes takes years to present. When it does, the cognitive decline is precipitous.
The message from Heming Willis comes after paparazzi tried to interact with the 67-year-old actor while he made a rare trip out in public to meet some friends for coffee.
“If you are someone who is looking after someone with dementia, you know how difficult and stressful it can be to get someone out into the world and to navigate them safely, even just to get a cup of coffee,” she said. “It’s clear that there’s still a lot of education that needs to be put forth. So this one is going out to the photographers and video people that are trying to get those exclusives of my husband out and about. Just keep your space.”
An absolutely reasonable request. Providing full time care for someone struggling with dementia is difficult, even if you are specifically trained to do so. Willis went on:
“I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space,” she continued. “Please don’t be yelling at my husband, asking how he’s doing, whatever. The woo-hooing and the yippee-ki-yay’s — just don’t do it. Give him the space. Allow for our family or whoever’s with him that day to be able to get him from Point A to Point B safely. That’s my PSA.”
Of course, “yippee-ki-yay” was Bruce Willis’s famous line from the first Die Hard movie. I’ve left the rest of it off because this is a family article. While a decade ago it might have elicited that coy grin or even a response, now it is just strangers yelling at him, and he doesn’t know why. It is a very sad situation for one of the best actors and best people of our generation. Here is hoping people take note and respect the families wishes.
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