MOVIE NEWS – Emma Heming Willis asks paparazzi not to harass her husband, recently diagnosed with dementia when he goes outdoors.

The fact that paparazzi and press members harass Bruce Willis every time he steps out in public is not helping the retired actor in his battle with dementia. And his wife, Emma Heming Willis, urges them to be more respectful and keep their distance. Last year, Willis’ family announced that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a neurological disease affecting communication and memory, which has progressed to frontotemporal dementia, the Willis family revealed last month.

Recently, pictures emerged of Willis heading out for a coffee with some friends. During the public outing, some of the photographers and videographers must have tried to talk to Willis, even shouting Die Hard phrases to get a reaction. Emma Heming Willis has now posted a video on Instagram addressed to the paparazzi.

Acknowledging and understanding that this may be their job, she kindly asks people to stay away from Willis and refrain from shouting anything at him or otherwise disturbing him.

“In service of raising awareness around dementia, because that is my goal, if you or someone is looking after someone with dementia, you know how difficult and stressful it can be to get someone out and to navigate them safely, even just to get a cup of coffee,” she says in the video clip. “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. I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space.”

She then continued, “For the video people, please don’t be yelling at my husband, asking him how he’s doing or whatever. The ‘woohoo’-ing and the ‘yippee ki yays,’ just don’t do it, okay? Give him his 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.”

Source: Instagram