Emma Heming Willis, Bruce Willis’ wife, has asked paparazzi to keep their distance and quit shrieking at the “Die Hard” star when they meet him in public.
In an emotional video posted on her Instagram page over the weekend, Heming Willis said, “There’s still a lot of education that has to be put forth” regarding those living with dementia.
Recalling a recent incident in which photographers attempted to chat with the sick actor during a rare public appearance to meet friends for coffee in Santa Monica, the 44-year-old model highlighted how “tough and stressful it can be to bring someone out into the world and navigate them securely.”
“This one is for the photographers and film guys wanting to get those exclusives of my husband out there: Just keep your space,” she added in the video. “I know this is your work, but please respect my space.”
“For the video, please don’t yell at my husband asking him how he’s doing or whatever — the ‘woohoo’-ing and the ‘yippee ki-yays’…” she continued. Simply do not do it. OK? Allow him his space. Allow our family or whoever is accompanying him that day to transport him from point A to point B safely.”
Heming Willis said in the video’s caption, “To other carers or dementia care specialists navigating this environment… Do you have any recommendations or advice for safely getting your loved ones out into the world? Please comment below.”
Willis, 67, and Heming Willis married in 2009 and have two children, Mabel and Evelyn.
Her plea comes only weeks after Willis’ family reported that his aphasia, or speech impairment, had advanced into a type of dementia known as frontotemporal dementia, or FTD.
“Currently, there are no medicines for the condition, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. “As Bruce’s situation worsens, we hope that any media attention can be focused on raising a light on this disease that requires significantly more awareness and research,” they stated in an update released online last month.
The Alzheimer’s Society defines FTD as “a collection of illnesses characterized by increasing nerve cell death in the brain’s frontal lobes (the areas behind your brow) or temporal lobes.” These brain regions are commonly related to personality, behavior, and language.
