As we learned while covering the heartbreaking Bruce Willis news, aphasia is often symptomatic of either a degenerative condition, a brain tumor… or a head injury.
We assumed the former as we’ve never heard about the Die Hard star being severely injured. However, friends are now concerned that his cognitive issues could be linked to injuries he reportedly suffered on a film set 20 years ago.
According to a new report, the 67-year-old actor once filed a lawsuit against a production company following an injury he reportedly sustained while filming the action movie Tears of the Sun back in 2002. At least one of Willis’ close friends has now come forward to explain how that on-set issue could be connected to his recent bombshell aphasia diagnosis.
Related: Concerning Old On-Set Incidents Involving Bruce Willis Following Aphasia Diagnosis Reveal
Back in 2004, the Die Hard superstar sued Revolution Studios, claiming he’s “suffered substantial mental and physical injuries” back in October of 2002 when he was allegedly struck in the forehead by a projectile on set.
According to Deseret News, which followed the lawsuit story at the time, Willis alleged that the projectile had been detonated by the movie’s special effects team as part of a pyrotechnic explosion on set. Something went wrong, though, and in court documents Willis claimed he had “endured extreme mental, physical, and emotional pain and suffering.”
The complaint itself didn’t seek specific monetary damages, per The Guardian, and its legal resolution is unclear. But at least one “longtime friend” of the actor told The Sun that the Tears of the Sun lawsuit loomed large in looking back following this week’s shocking aphasia diagnosis announcement.
Speaking about Willis’ health in light of the alleged head injury from two decades ago, the close friend told the outlet (below):
“The changes became noticeable about five years ago. It wasn’t anything major at first, just little things, like needing assistance with lines by using earpieces.”
And apparently, at least according to this insider, things were “off” with the action star for quite a while before this week’s surprising news.
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The close friend said:
“Everyone who knew him knew something was off, we just didn’t know the exact diagnosis. We knew something cognitively was wrong, that was not a secret, but this specific diagnosis and the fact that he wasn’t going to act anymore was surprising.”
Wow.
If the 2002 on-set allegations truly are linked to the aphasia in any way, then that would be significant for several reasons. First, it would mean the injury was far worse than anyone knew. But also it raises the possibility that Bruce was been battling issues for much longer, possibly even as far back as 2010 — when filmmaker Kevin Smith was quite vocal about the Pulp Fiction star’s bad behavior on the set of Cop Out. After Bruce’s family announcement, Kev notably already apologized for ever having lodged “petty” complaints about the star’s professionalism — whether they were related or not.
We may never know when this started to affect Bruce’s behavior if it was so gradual. Regardless, we continue to hope for the best for Bruce and his family as they grapple with this serious diagnosis and the public aftermath of their announcement.
[Image via Sony Pictures/YouTube.]
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