Bruce Willis’ daughter Scout Willis has thanked everyone for the ‘exquisite outpouring of love’ that she and her family have received since announcing his retirement from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis.
The family – including Bruce’s wife Emma Heming, ex-wife Demi Moore and three grown-up daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah – all posted a message on their Instagram pages on Wednesday sharing the news.
It read: ‘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.
‘This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support’.
‘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,’ it continued.
‘As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that.’
The actor has enjoyed a performing career spanning over four decades and in hugely popular films including Pulp Fiction, Look Who’s Talking, Armageddon and his most iconic role, that of John McClane in the Die Hard movies.
‘Grace and guts! Love to you all!’, wrote Jamie Lee Curtis under Demi’s post, while Rita Wilson commented: ‘My heart goes out to Bruce, and all of the family. So thankful you shared this with us. Keeping you all in our prayers.’
‘I love you D and all the love to your family. ❤️❤️❤️❤️,’ posted Amber Valletta, while Julianne Moore posted a red heart and Cindy Crawford left a praying hands emoji.
Supermodel Helena Christensen told Tallulah: ‘Sending so much love and strength to your beautiful family ❤️❤️❤️’
‘Sending you and the whole family all of my love today ❤️’, comforted Ireland Baldwin, daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, while Cazzie David, Larry David’s daughter, and Patrick Schwarzenegger both left strings of red heart emojis.
Sex and the City star Kristin Davis also said she was ‘sending love to you all❤️’, while Hawkeye actor Jeremy Renner posted: ‘Much love Bruce !!!!!❤️’
‘I have so much love for Bruce Willis, and am grateful for every character he’s given us,’ tweeted Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Family Guy actor Seth Green. ‘Hugs and love for the whole family- thank you for sharing him with us all.‘
Grammy-winning musician Billy Vera reminisced over working with Bruce in his early days on Blind Date.
‘So sorry to hear our old friend Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia and is stepping away from acting. He was an early friend to me and used to come see the band all the time. We worked together in his first big movie, Blind Date. Wishing him well.’
Just an hour after initially sharing the news, 30-year-old Scout returned to Instagram to thank everyone for their support, posting a picture of her dad in a yellow headscarf on her Stories and captioning it: ‘The exquisite outpouring of love that I am experiencing right now is just blowing me away. Thank you all for showing up with so much tenderness and stunning love for my daddio and my whole family!’
Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob filmmaker Kevin Smith also shared his sympathy over the ‘heartbreaking’ news.
‘Long before any of the Cop Out stuff, I was a big Bruce Willis fan – so this is really heartbreaking to read. He loved to act and sing and the loss of that has to be devastating for him.’
‘I feel like an a**hole for my petty complaints from 2010. So sorry to BW and his family,’ he added, referring to the disappointment he voiced with working with Bruce on Cop Out, when he complained on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast that the actor ‘wouldn’t even sit for a f***ing poster shoot’.
Bruce got his big break in the TV series Moonlighting, and made a triumphant return to prime-time television in 2000 with a guest stint on Friends. Both roles won him an Emmy.
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a condition that impacts a person’s language skills.
This means it can cause trouble with:
- reading
- writing
- listening
- speaking
According to the NHS, it usually starts due to damage to the left side of the brain after something like, for example, a serious head injury or a stroke.
Perhaps most noticeably, people who have aphasia might have problems speaking, such as by possibly mistakenly using certain words, using the wrong sounds, or using words in the wrong order.
It does not impact a person’s intelligence, but it can emerge both by itself or alongside other health issues like mobility problems and issues with memory.
He also received a Golden Globe from four nominations.
In 2006, the actor was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in Los Angeles.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
