Bruce Willis, the prolific action movie star, has been diagnosed with aphasia – a disorder that affects the language center of the brain and a person’s ability to understand or express speech – and will walk away from comedy, announced his ex-wife, Demi Moore. in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

“To the amazing Bruce supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has had health issues and was recently diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” reads- on in Moore’s post. “As a result and with great consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that meant so much to him.”

“We’re going through this as a strong family unit and we wanted to bring in his fans because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” he continued. “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up,’ and together we plan to do just that.”

The message is signed “Emma, ​​Demi, Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel & Evelyn” – referring to Emma Heming Willis, Willis’ wife, and his children. Moore is mother to Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, and Heming Willis is mother to Mabel and Evelyn.

The post was accompanied by a comical photo of a younger, smiling Willis wearing a bathrobe, sunglasses, a gold chain with a cross and a towel around his head.

Representatives for Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Willis, who turned 67 this month, is best known for his role as brutal but clever New York cop John McClane in the hit film series ‘Die Hard’, which ran for five films from 1988 to 2013. .

He also starred in critically acclaimed films like “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “The Sixth Sense” (1999) and “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012).

Although he is mainly considered a movie star, he has received more accolades for his work in television: for his role as private detective David Addison (played alongside Cybill Shepherd) in “Moonlighting” – a comedy- ABC drama-romance that ran from 1985 to 1989 – it earned three Golden Globe nominations, winning one, and two Emmy Award nominations for lead actor, winning one. He also won a guest actor in a comedy Emmy in 2000 for his role as Paul Stevens, the father of Ross Geller’s much younger girlfriend, on the NBC series “Friends.”

Since 2015, his filmography has mostly been an onslaught of B-movie action productions, including 2020’s “Breach,” and 2021’s “Fortress.” According to his IMDb page, Willis currently has nearly 10 movies in post-production.