Bruce Willis still wanted to work and was able to do so even after his aphasic diagnosis, his attorney Martin Singer said.
In March, the family of the 67-year-old star revealed that he was retiring from acting after more than 40 years in the industry, due to the lingering effects of the condition.
Aphasia is a degenerative condition that affects speech and communication, usually caused by brain damage, and people who had worked with Willis before his retirement were reportedly concerned for his well-being.
However, Singer, Willis’s agent for several years, hits back at claims that film director and producer Randall Emmett forced Willis to continue working when he was unable to do so.
“My client continued to work after his medical diagnosis because he wanted to work and he could,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
He continued, “Like many others with aphasia who can continue to work.”
The comments came out in response to several allegations against Emmett, who has often worked with Willis in recent years.
The Los Angeles Times article claims that Emmett forced the Die Hard actor to continue working long after he was aware that he was unable to do so.
Emmett has denied the allegations, while Anna Szymanska, Emmett’s assistant, has also denied that Willis was mistreated on set during the filming of the upcoming film Wrong Place.
†[Bruce] was never alone. If no one from Bruce’s team was around, the crew would say how sad we were to see him in this state.”
Singer has also defended Willis’ appearances in Emmett’s films, stressing that the actor, who has starred in more than a dozen direct-to-video films in recent years, was still more than capable of working.
†[It is similar to] Stevie Wonder has an assistant who leads him to the stage to perform, or Marlee Matlin’s reliance on a sign language interpreter,” he argued.
“My client who allegedly relies on others to provide certain assistance is in a similar vein. It should be praised’.
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