Bruce Willis announced his retirement from acting almost a year ago after revealing his battle with aphasia — and now his wife is asking paparazzi to retire from “yelling” at him amid his recent dementia diagnosis.
Emma Heming Willis posted an emotional video to her Instagram, pleading with photographers to “keep your space” when they spot the 67-year-old actor out in public.
“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,” Heming Willis, 44, said.
“It’s clear that there’s still a lot of education that needs to be put worth,” she continued. “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.”
Heming Willis, who has been married to Bruce since 2009, acknowledged that the paparazzi has a job to do, but suggested there could be a more respectful way to go about it.
“I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space,” she said. “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.”
The Post has reached out to the Willis family’s reps for comment.
Meanwhile, the video comes just a few weeks after Willis’ family announced that his aphasia — a brain disorder that affects his ability to communicate — worsened and developed into frontotemporal dementia.
Willis’ ex-wife Demi Moore, 60, posted an update on his health status to Instagram, directing fans to their full statement on the Association for Frontotemporal Dementia’s website.
“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the statement reads.
It added, “Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately. We know in our hearts that – if he could today — he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.”
The statement was signed by Moore, who was married to Willis from 1987 to 2000, and their daughters Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, 29, as well as Heming Willis, and their daughters Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, 8.
The statement explained that frontotemporal is the most common form of dementia in people under 60 years old and there is currently no cure for it.
“FTD is actually a group of brain disorders that cause progressive degeneration of the neurons in the brain and, as the name suggests, affects primarily the frontal and temporal areas of the brain,” Dr. Allison B. Reiss of the NYU Long Island School of Medicine previously told The Post in an email.
“It has a relatively young age of onset, most diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 64 years.”
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