Bruce Willis “stepping away” from his career following aphasia diagnosis

Bruce Willis “stepping away” from his career following aphasia diagnosis
Bruce Willis “stepping away” from his career following aphasia diagnosis
Jim Spellman/WireImage

On her Instagram, Rumer Willis revealed that her father, Bruce Willis is “stepping away” from the limelight, following the diagnosis of a condition that can rob someone of their ability to communicate.

“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,” began the message, which was posted with a picture of the 67-year-old Die Hard series star in a bath robe, smirking with a towel on his head.

“As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him,” Rumer explained.

“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,” the message continued.

“As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that,” Rumer said.

Rumer’s post was signed off with “love” from herself, as well as her mom and Bruce’s ex-wife Demi Moore, her sisters Scout and Tallulah, and Mabel and Evelyn, Bruce’s young daughters with his model wife Emma Heming Willis.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “Aphasia typically occurs suddenly after a stroke or a head injury. But it can also come on gradually from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes progressive, permanent damage (degenerative). The severity of aphasia depends on a number of conditions, including the cause and the extent of the brain damage.”

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Elliot Page’s ‘Umbrella Academy’ character to come out as transgender in season 3

Elliot Page’s ‘Umbrella Academy’ character to come out as transgender in season 3
Elliot Page’s ‘Umbrella Academy’ character to come out as transgender in season 3
ABC

They say art often imitates life, and that’s the case when it comes to Elliot Page and his Umbrella Academy character.

Elliot, who came out as transgender in December 2020, starred as Vanya Hargreeves in the Netflix series, and on Tuesday, it was revealed that his character will reflect that change, with his character transitioning to Viktor.

Alongside a screen grab of Elliot from the upcoming third season of the series about a family of misfit superheroes, the actor wrote, “Meet Viktor Hargreeves.”

Netflix retweeted the post, adding, “Welcome to the family, Viktor — we’re so happy you’re here.”

Umbrella Academy also stars Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan and Aidan Gallagher. Season three hits Netflix June 22.

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“Miss You Pal”: John Stamos shares video message from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins

“Miss You Pal”: John Stamos shares video message from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins
“Miss You Pal”: John Stamos shares video message from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins
Rich Fury/Getty Images

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Like millions of Foo Fighters fans, John Stamos is mourning the loss of drummer Taylor Hawkins, who was found dead in a Bogota, Colombia, hotel room last Friday night.

Stamos posted to Instagram a video from Hawkins in which he ribs his fellow drummer for taking a spot in a commercial from him. 

“Stamos is a good buddy of mine,” Hawkins says in the clip. “He’s a great drummer…he’s a great dude, all that stuff.”

“But I am a little upset with him, actually,” Hawkins continues. “I have to be honest with you because I was supposed to do that GEICO commercial. You know that GEICO commercial where he flips, flips the stick. That was mine. Originally that was mine.”

He adds, “But they decided to go with Stamos because he’s better looking. But I am the best stick flipper around, sorry Stamos,” he continued. “I got this. It goes me, Tommy Lee, Stamos.”

For his part, the Full House star and part time Beach Boys drummer commented, “Yes, Taylor you are the best stick flipper and I miss you pal!”, adding “#gonetoof***ingsoon”.

Dave Grohl announced Tuesday that his band was cancelling the remainder of their tour “in light of the staggering loss of our brother Taylor Hawkins.” According to Variety, Sunday’s Grammys will include a tribute to Hawkins.

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Slap survey: 63% say they’ll tune into the Oscars next year just because of Will Smith incident

Slap survey: 63% say they’ll tune into the Oscars next year just because of Will Smith incident
Slap survey: 63% say they’ll tune into the Oscars next year just because of Will Smith incident
ABC

It has been shown that Will Smith‘s slapping Chris Rock goosed the ratings of last Sunday night’s Oscars by some 600,000 viewers, so the results of a new survey about the show may not come as a surprise.

A OnePoll survey of 1,000 American viewers revealed 63% plan to tune in next year just because of the slap.

Nearly 1 in 10 of respondents say they only tuned in after they heard about the incident — meaning, they witnessed Smith tearfully accepting his Best Actor trophy for King Richard, to a standing ovation. 

Not surprisingly, Smith’s attack on Rock was listed as the “most shocking” moment in Oscars history, with 35% of those polled attesting to that. 

The slap far outpaced other jaw droppers, like when La La Land was accidentally announced as Best Picture instead of Moonlight in 2018 (19%); Kevin Hart fired as host for old tweets (18%); and Marlon Brando sending Sacheen Littlefeather to decline the Best Actor award in 1973 (17%).

For 17%, Ellen DeGeneres snapping a selfie with celebrities was listed as a shocking moment as well, as was John Travolta puzzlingly pronouncing Idina Menzel‘s name as “Adele Dazeem.”

The slap was even deemed far more shocking than 1974’s infamous onstage Oscars “streaker” incident — that came in at 16%. 

Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.

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“Shocked and stunned” and “still triggered” Amy Schumer unpacks Oscars slap

“Shocked and stunned” and “still triggered” Amy Schumer unpacks Oscars slap
“Shocked and stunned” and “still triggered” Amy Schumer unpacks Oscars slap
ABC

One of Sunday night’s Oscars hosts, Amy Schumer, has broken her silence about the so-called “slap heard ’round the world.”

“Still triggered and traumatized,” she said on Instagram. “I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing.”

Schumer continued, “So much pain in @willsmith.”

The stand-up and actress added, “I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. Im proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”

In case you’ve been under a rock for the past 48 hours, Will Smith stormed the stage, slapped, and then cursed Chris Rock after he took a swipe at Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, likening her close-cropped hair to Demi Moore‘s Navy SEAL bald cut in G.I. Jane. Pinkett-Smith shaved her head because she suffers from hair loss as a result of alopecia.

After the incident, Smith tearfully collected his Best Actor trophy for King Richard.  

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday it “condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show.” The organization further announced it has “officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”

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In Brief: ‘It’ prequel series coming to HBO Max, and more

In Brief: ‘It’ prequel series coming to HBO Max, and more
In Brief: ‘It’ prequel series coming to HBO Max, and more

HBO Max is developing a prequel to the Stephen King novel It, according to The Ankler. The series, tentatively titled Welcome to Derry, will be set in the 1960s in the time leading up to the events of the 2017 film It: Part One and is said to include the origin story of Pennywise the Clown. Andy Muschietti, who directed It: Part One and 2019’s It: Part Two, is attached to executive-produce the series.

Apple TV+ has tapped Joel Edgerton to star in an adaptation of the Blake Crouch novel Dark Matter, according to Variety. The nine-episode series will follow Edgerton as a physicist, professor, and family man who suddenly finds himself in an alternate universe, where he “embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from an unimaginable foe — himself.” Edgerton will next be seen in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Disney+ Star Wars spinoff, debuting on May 25…

HBO Max dropped a teaser trailer on Tuesday for its eight-episode limited series The Staircase, starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette. The docuseries, follows the trial of American novelist Michael Peterson, who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen, in 2001. Firth and Collette, who play Michael and Kathleen, respectively, are joined by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Rosemarie DeWitt, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey, Sophie Turner and Odessa Young. The Staircase debuts May 5 with three episodes, followed by one new episode each week through June 9…

(NOTE LANGUAGE) Variety reports Jane the Virgin alum Gina Rodriguez has landed the lead role in the ABC comedy pilot Not Dead Yet. The project, based on the Alexandra Potter book Confessions of a Forty-Something F*** Up, follows Rodriquez’s Nell Stevens — who is “broke, newly single and feeling old.” Seeking to revive the career she abandoned a decade ago, she lands a job writing obituaries, and “starts getting life advice from an unlikely source,” according to the industry trade…

Rome Flynn, who played the role of Gabriel Maddox on the fifth and sixth seasons of ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder, is joining the network’s Grey’s Anatomy in a recurring role, according to Variety. He’ll play Wendell Ndugu, the brother of Anthony Hill‘s Winston. ABC describes Maddox’s character as “a typical younger sibling with a mischievous sense of humor — he’s hoping to impress Winston with his new sales rep role at a medical technology company.” The logline for Thursday’s episode, which will mark his first appearance on the show, suggests that the physician shortage at Grey Sloan Memorial, prompted by the pandemic, is starting to become a true crisis. Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC…

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Debuting today on Disney+: Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’

Debuting today on Disney+: Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
Debuting today on Disney+: Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios’ newest series, Moon Knight, debuts today on Disney+.

It centers on Oscar Isaac‘s Steven Grant, a geeky museum gift shop employee plagued by blackouts and haunting visions of another life. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder, sharing his body with Marc Spector, an American Marine turned mercenary, who was gifted the power of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu [CONN-shoe]. 

Grant/Spector can summon the power to become Moon Knight, a powerful hero with mummy-like wrappings, glowing eyes, and a flowing cape, who first appeared in the pages of Marvel Comics in 1975.

The other side of the coin is Ethan Hawke‘s cult leader Arthur Harrow, who’s been gifted the ability to bring life-or-death judgement on people through the power of the Egyptian goddess Amit.

Executive producer Mohamed Diab, the first Egyptian director in the MCU, called the shots on several of the series’ six episodes. Egypt is central to the story, and Diab tells ABC Audio he tried to be as authentic as possible to the country, unlike other shows and movies.

“We call it Orientalism, seeing our world through a lens of like, falling into all the tropes,” Diab explains. 

“Seeing us as exotic, women are submissive, men are terrorists or bad. And even…the cities themselves, sometimes they’re shot in a way that [appears] a bit exotic and primitive…It’s always, the pyramids, and you see the desert.”

In reality, “If you just like turned a little bit, [they’re] in the middle of a big city.”

While the show features ancient gods and far-flung locations, Diab explains, “I always felt like the journey that Marc and Steven go through is something very personal, very small and very deep…”

“The idea of someone learning to live with themselves…We all can feel connected to that.”  

Marvel Studios is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.

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‘Grey’s Anatomy’ alum Jesse Williams wants $40K child support payments reduced

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ alum Jesse Williams wants K child support payments reduced
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ alum Jesse Williams wants K child support payments reduced
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Grey’s Anatomy alum Jesse Williams is seeking a reduction on his $40,000 a month child support payment.

The 40-year-old actor, who shares joint custody of eight-year-old daughter Sadie and six-year-old son Maceo with ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee, says that the payments are “no longer reasonable” now that he is no longer starring in the ABC medical drama, according to legal documents obtained by E! News.

“I am requesting the Court reduce the child support to a reasonable amount I can afford given the significant reduction in my income and the now fluctuating nature of my income,” Williams stated in the documents.

Williams appeared on Grey’s for almost 12 season before leaving in May 2021. He now stars in the Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg’s play Take Me Out, currently in previews. It officially opens April 4 and runs through May 29. He will earn $1,668 per week for the project, according to the documents, and currently has nothing booked for afterwards.

“Given the significant reduction in my income, the $40,000 per month child support for our two young children is no longer reasonable, appropriate or sustainable,” the actor stated.

Williams added that his children would not be affected by the change as they live a modest lifestyle.

“They do not have expensive hobbies or attend expensive camps. They do not fly by private jet when we take vacations (which are already infrequent), and we do not have any vacation homes,” he stated. “I agreed to the child support solely due to my then significant Grey’s income.”

Williams and Drake-Lee wed in 2012. Their divorce was finalized in October 2020.

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“A blessing and a gift during such uncertain times” — Hilaria and Alec Baldwin expecting baby #7

“A blessing and a gift during such uncertain times” — Hilaria and Alec Baldwin expecting baby #7
“A blessing and a gift during such uncertain times” — Hilaria and Alec Baldwin expecting baby #7
Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Hilaria Baldwin broke a social media break to share the news that she and Alec Baldwin are expecting their seventh child.

“After many ups and downs over the past few years, we have an exciting up and a huge surprise: another Baldwinito is coming this fall,” she noted in a video of the family.

“We were pretty sure our family was complete, and we’re beyond happy with this surprise,” she added, explaining, “I’m sharing with you the moment we told the kids—as you can see, they are super excited!”

The video shows the entire “Baldwinito” brood around the couple: Carmen Gabriela, 8; Rafael Thomas, 6; Leonardo Ángel Charles, 5; Romeo Alejandro, 3; Eduardo Pau Lucas Baldwin, who is 18 months, and Lucia, whom the couple welcomed via surrogate thirteen months ago.

Baldwin, 63, also has a 26-year-old daughter Ireland, with his ex-wife Kim Basinger.

Baldwin’s wife, 38, called the new baby, “a very bright spot in our lives,” and “a blessing and a gift during such uncertain times.”

It’s not clear if that was a reference to the post-pandemic world in general, or an oblique reference to the couple’s lives following the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Baldwin’s Western Rust.

A police investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Before Alec’s sit-down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the shooting late last year, Hilaria expressed that explaining the headlines surrounding the October, 2021 incident to her older children has been “heart-wrenching” for her.

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‘Flash’ star Ezra Miller arrested after incident at karaoke bar in Hawaii

‘Flash’ star Ezra Miller arrested after incident at karaoke bar in Hawaii
‘Flash’ star Ezra Miller arrested after incident at karaoke bar in Hawaii
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images

Ezra Miller, who plays Barry Allen/The Flash in the DC movie universe, was arrested by police in Hilo, Hawaii, on Sunday evening after allegedly making a scene at a karaoke bar.

According to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald, the 29-year-old-actor was charged with disorderly conduct and harassment after reportedly screaming obscenities at a 23-year-old female singer and trying to pry the microphone away from her.

Cops say he also “lunged” at a 32-year-old male patron who was playing darts at the establishment, Margarita Village.

Miller was described as “unruly” and “agitated” state during the incident. 

He was taken into custody afterwards, and charged with the petty misdemeanors. He was freed after posting $500 bail, according to the paper. 

This isn’t the first time that Miller has displayed odd behavior: In 2018, he was caught on social media shoving a female fan to the ground by her neck; it wasn’t clear by his demeanor if the incident was meant to be a joke or not. 

In January, he Instagrammed a video in which he referred to himself as “the Bengal Ghouls, [and] Mad Goose Wizard,” and sent a message “for the Beulaville chapter of the North Carolina Ku Klux Klan,” in which he invited them to “kill yourself with your own guns…Otherwise, keep doing what you’re doing…and we’ll do it for you.”

The video was later deleted. 

Incidentally, the release date for upcoming movie The Flash, which will again star Miller in the title role, as well as Batmen Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck, was recently bumped to June 23, 2023.

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