Sylvester Stallone reveals pal Bruce Willis is going through a 'difficult' time after aphasia diagnosis
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sylvester Stallone has shared an update on his longtime pal and co-actor Bruce Willis' health in a recent post. The 'Rocky' legend talked about Willis' struggles and revealed that the 'Die Hard' actor is currently "incommunicado." Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition in which a person loses his ability to speak, write, and understand language.
The 75-year-old star told Hollywood Reporter, “Bruce is going through some really, really difficult times. So he’s been sort of incommunicado. That kills me. It’s so sad.” The treatment of aphasia comprises speech and language therapies, as per the Mayo Clinic. Even when the Willis family first revealed about the 67-year-old actor’s condition on an Instagram post, back in March, Stallone was quick to wish him well, reports Hollywood Reporter. He had shared several pictures of the pair and wrote, “We go back a long way, praying for the best for you and your wonderful family.”
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Both legends had met years ago before stepping into Planet Hollywood in 1991. Their restaurant was funded by Willis’ ex-wife, actress Demi Moore, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, Willis and Stallone had a brief feud following their 2010 film franchise ‘The Expendables’. This was the reason Willis pulled out of the third edition of the movie. The producers brought in Harrison Ford to replace Willis, which Stallone kind of celebrated through a tweet back in 2013, “WILLIS OUT…HARRISON FORD IN !!!! GREAT NEWS !!!!! Been waiting years for this!!!!!” The pair did manage to come out of their feud and remained great buddies after that episode, reported Page Six.
The joint statement released by Willis’ family, including the actor’s wife, Emma Heming, his ex-wife, Moore, and their kids, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, over Instagram in March 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.”
It further said, “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. As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that.”