Bruce Willis’s wife has asked paparazzi to “keep your space” and not yell at the actor, who was recently diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
In an Instagram video, Emma Heming Willis said members of the press attempted to speak to her husband when he was getting coffee with friends.
“If you are someone that is looking after someone with dementia, you know how difficult and stressful it can be to get someone out into the world and just to navigate them safely, even just to get a cup of coffee,” she said.
“In the spirit of raising awareness around dementia, it’s clear that there’s still a lot of education that needs to be put forth. So this one is going out to the photographers and the video people that are trying to get those exclusives of my husband out and about: Just keep your space.”
She added: “I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space. For the video people please don’t be yelling at my husband, asking him how he’s doing, or whatever, the woo-hooing and the yippee ki-yay’s – just don’t do it.
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‘A difficult diagnosis’ for Bruce Willis
“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.”
In her Instagram post, Heming Willis said: “To other caregivers or dementia care specialists navigating this world…. Any tips or advice on how to get your loved ones out in the world safely? Please share below.”
In March 2022, relatives said the Pulp Fiction star, 67, would be “stepping away” from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia, a condition affecting the brain which causes difficulty with language and speech.
What is frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and what are its symptoms?
The NHS says that FTD mostly affects people under the age of 65, although older people also suffer from it.
It causes changes to personality, behaviour, language, memory and movement, due to the areas of the brain that it affects (the frontal and temporal lobes).
There are also physical effects, such as slowness of movement, loss of bladder and bowel control and muscle weakness.
As with other forms of dementia, the condition degenerates slowly at first but then gradually gets worse over the years.
There is no single test for dementia: doctors will assess symptoms, carry out tests of mental abilities, take blood tests, carry out brain scans or undertake lumbar punctures.
There is currently no cure for FTD, but treatments such as medicines, therapies and memory activities can help control some of the symptoms.
The average survival time after symptoms start is between eight and 10 years.
In an update in February his family said the condition had progressed and he had been given a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
“As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research,” his family said.
Donald Trump says a meeting is being set up between himself and Vladimir Putin – and that he and Barack Obama “probably” like each other.
Republican US president-elect Mr Trump spoke to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday, saying Russian president Mr Putin “wants to meet, and we are setting it up”.
“He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That’s a bloody mess,” Mr Trump said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday there was a “mutual desire” to set up a meeting – but added no details had been confirmed yet and that there may be progress once Mr Trump is inaugurated on 20 January.
“Moscow has repeatedly declared its openness to contacts with international leaders, including the US president, including Donald Trump,” Mr Peskov added.
“What is required is a mutual desire and political will to conduct dialogue and resolve existing problems through dialogue. We see that Mr Trump also declares his readiness to resolve problems through dialogue. We welcome this. There are still no specifics, we proceed from the mutual readiness for the meeting.”
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Trump on Obama: ‘We just got along’
Mr Trump also made some lighter remarks regarding a viral exchange between himself and former Democrat President Barack Obamaat Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Thursday.
The pairsat together for the late president’s service in Washington DC on Thursday, and could be seen speaking for several minutes as the remaining mourners filed in before it began.
Mr Obama was seen nodding as his successor spoke before breaking into a grin.
Asked about the exchange, Mr Trump said: “I didn’t realise how friendly it looked.
“I said, ‘boy, they look like two people that like each other’. And we probably do.
“We have a little different philosophies, right? But we probably do. I don’t know. We just got along. But I got along with just about everybody.”
The amicable exchange comes after years of criticising each other in the public eye; it was Mr Trump who spread the so-called “birther” conspiracy theory about Mr Obama in 2011, falsely asserting that he was not born in the United States.
Mr Trump has repeatedly attacked the Obamas, saying the former president was “ineffective” and “terrible” and calling former first lady Michelle Obama “nasty” as recently as October last year.
On Kamala Harris’s campaign trail last year, Mr Obama said Mr Trump was a “78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago”, while the former first lady said that “the consequences of him ever being president again are brutally serious.”
The US Supreme Court has rejected a last-ditch attempt by Donald Trump to delay sentencing in the Stormy Daniels hush money case.
The president-elect was convicted on 34 counts last May in New York of falsifying business records relating to payments made to Ms Daniels before the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors claimed he had paid her $130,000 (£105,300) in hush money to not reveal details of what Ms Daniels said was a sexual relationship in 2006.
Mr Trump has denied any liaison with Ms Daniels or any wrongdoing.
By a majority, the Supreme Court found his sentencing would not be an insurmountable burden during the presidential transition since the presiding judge, Juan M Merchan, has indicated he will not give Mr Trump jail time, fines or probation.
Mr Trump’s attorneys argued that evidence used in the Manhattan trial violated last summer’s Supreme Court ruling giving Mr Trump broad immunity from prosecution over acts he took as president.
At the least, they said, the sentencing should be delayed while their appeals play out to avoid distracting Mr Trump during the presidential transition.
Mr Trump’s attorneys went to the justices after New York courts refused to postpone sentencing.
Judges in New York found that the convictions related to personal matters rather than Mr Trump’s official acts as president.
Mr Trump’s attorneys called the case politically motivated, and they said sentencing him now would be a “grave injustice” that threatens to disrupt the presidential transition as the Republican prepares to return to the White House.
Mr Trump has said he will appeal again: “I respect the court’s opinion – I think it was actually a very good opinion for us because you saw what they said, but they invited the appeal and the appeal is on the bigger issue. So, we’ll see how it works out,” he said at a dinner with Republican governors at his private club in Florida.
Because the New York case was a state, rather than federal crime, Mr Trump will not be able to pardon himself when he takes office on 20 January.