Aphasia has threatened to rob film fans of Hollywood’s most die-hard action hero. On Wednesday, Bruce Willis announced he is stepping away from acting amid his life-changing diagnosis with the communication disorder.
Ex-wife Demi Moore released a statement announcing his retirement at age 67.
“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,” Moore, 59, shared on Instagram. “As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
The announcement provided no further details as to the type or cause of the “Die Hard” star’s condition.
However, recent reports allege that Willis’ cognitive issues are not necessarily a new development. An insider told Page Six that the actor had recently used “earpieces, hearing things, for them to feed him the lines” on sets, and that “it was increasingly difficult to have him on screen.”
“He was having cognitive problems, they all knew Bruce was having problems,” the insider added. “Everybody knew, the cast and crew. His family has stepped in, they moved in to take care of him.”
The Post has reached out to the actor’s reps for clarification regarding his condition.
Aphasia is outwardly marked by difficulty with speaking and comprehending language conversation. It occurs due to injury at the brain’s speech center — usually a result of neurological disease, stroke, a brain tumor or bleeding. The diagnosis is confirmed with MRI or CT scans, according to the National Institutes of Health.
This could look like someone who uses gibberish, or can only speak in short spurts. Alternatively, specific injuries may cause highly contained symptoms, such as an inability to recall the names of objects or to repeat a word the person heard.
Treatment of aphasia starts with figuring out the underlying cause of the symptoms, which may clear naturally as those injuries heal, even without treatment.
For others, especially those with a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s, the signs of aphasia can be progressive. For those whose aphasia lingers, whatever the reason, speech-language therapy is usually recommended.
“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” continued the family’s statement, which also was signed by the adult children of Willis and Moore, as well as his current wife, Emma Heming Willis, 43, and their two young girls.
“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up,’ and together we plan to do just that,” the statement concluded.
