Celebrities show an outpouring of support for Bruce Willis following dementia diagnosis
Following Bruce Willis’ dementia diagnosis, celebrities take to social media to support the actor and his family
After actor Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis formally announced her husband’s diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) on Thursday, a number of celebrities responded, showing their support for Willis and her family.
The news follows a previous announcement in 2022 that the actor was suffering from aphasia, a condition that affects language expression and comprehension.
Stars took to social media to express their support
Aaron Paul, the ‘Breaking Bad’ star, commented “Love you so much my friend! Sending hugs to you and that beautiful family of yours. Your pops is such a damn legend,” on Rumer Willis’ post on her father’s diagnosis.
Wilmer Valderrama, Clair Holt, Matt McGorry, Alanna Masterson, Kimora Lee Simmons, Selma Blair, and many more were among the celebrities who left comments of condolences on the diagnosis.
Journalists Maria Shriver and Jake Tapper took to Twitter to express their sentiments. Shriver called for the family’s privacy during their time of need and that all families dealing with the illness receive the support they need.
My heart goes out to Bruce Willis and his family, & also my gratitude for shining a much needed light on this disease. When people step forward it helps all of us. When people get a diagnosis it’s extremely difficult, but also for most a relief to get a diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/macAukMe7U
— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) February 16, 2023
Tapper’s father-in-law also suffered from FTD, the same illness as Bruce Willis, and passed away.
Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia, his family says. FTD is a profoundly cruel disease, my beloved father in law Tom suffered from it for years before he died. Sending all my love and prayers to their family pic.twitter.com/IoBuS21Fol
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 16, 2023
‘Nashville’ actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, also commented on the unfortunate news. Her mother was diagnosed with the disease and passed away in 2016. She later wrote about her experiences with her mother’s illness in a personal essay published in Redbook.
A legendary actor
After Willis’ initial diagnosis of aphasia in March 2022 celebrities also showed an outpouring of support when the actor announced his retirement from acting.
Willis has had a long career in Hollywood, spanning over 40 years. With hit movies like ‘The Sixth Sense,’ ‘Die Hard,’ ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘Twelve Monkeys,’ and many more under his belt, the multiple-award-winning actor has earned a loyal following.
Before he was formally diagnosed with aphasia, coworkers had suspected that something was ailing the actor when he began having issues remembering longer lines of dialogue.
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Director Mike Burns for ‘Out of Death’ emailed the film’s screenwriter Bruce Lawrence asking him to “knock down Bruce’s page count by about 5 pages,” and “to abbreviate his dialogue a bit so that there are no monologues, etc.”
‘Out of Death’ which was released in 2021 was one of Willis’ last films released before his retirement.