Bruce Willis took time to thank first responders in Los Angeles as the city’s devastating wildfires continue to burn.
The actor — in an Instagram video shared by his wife, Emma Heming Willis, on Thursday — is seen shaking hands and posing for photos with Los Angeles police officers working during the fires, which have killed at least 27 people and destroyed over 12,000 structures in the area.
Emma Heming Willis captioned the post, “Spotting a first responder, Bruce never missed a chance to show his gratitude with a heartfelt handshake and a ‘thank you for your service.’ Yesterday was no different ❤️🤍💙”
The clip is seemingly the first time that Bruce Willis has made a public appearance since his family announced in 2022 that he’d be retiring from acting after he was diagnosed with aphasia.
His family would later reveal that his condition had progressed to frontotemporal dementia, which can cause trouble communicating, emotional problems and unusual behaviors, according to the National Institute of Aging.
Tallulah Willis, the actor’s recently-engaged daughter who he shares with his former wife Demi Moore, wrote in a comment that the clip of her father made her “heart so freaking full.”
Bruce Willis’ eldest daughter, actor Rumer Willis, revealed last year that it’s been “so incredible” to see that her dad is so beloved.
“I think if there’s any way sharing our experience brings hope — whatever comes forward as a family — that can have an effect and bring any sort of hope, comfort to someone else experiencing that, then to me, that’s … everything,” she said.
In December, Emma Heming Willis celebrated her 17th anniversary with the actor as she used an Instagram post to reflect on an occasion that usually brought her “excitement.”
Protect The Free Press
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“Now, if I’m honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a pit in my stomach,” wrote the former model.
She continued, “I give myself 30 minutes to sit in the ‘why him, why us,’ to feel the anger and grief. Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love. I feel blessed to know it, and it’s because of him. I’d do it all over again and again in a heartbeat 💞”