Emma Heming brushed off criticism with a strongly worded statement after she revealed her husband, beloved action star Bruce Willis, lives in a separate home while battling dementia.
“The opinions are so loud and they’re so noisy,” Heming, 47, said in an Instagram video Friday, following her Tuesday appearance on an ABC Diane Sawyer Special.
“But if they don’t have the experience of this, they don’t get a say. And they definitely don’t get a vote.”
Elsewhere in the clip, Heming noted that in the “comments section” people were “quick” to “judge the caregiver.”
Emma Heming addressed public criticism she received after revealing husband Bruce Willis now lives in a separate home amid his FTD battle. Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
In the Instagram clip, Heming said caregivers face “judgement from others and criticism from others.” Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
“And that is what caregivers are up against,” she added. “Judgement from others and criticism from others.”
Heming noted that the network “did a beautiful job of amplifying FTD awareness” during the program, which explored Willis’ devastating diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
She also praised the special for “shining a spotlight on caregivers” — a role she’s become intimately familiar with as her husband battles the neurodegenerative disease.
“Sharing openly may invite opinions, but more importantly, it creates connection and validation for those actually navigating the realities of caregiving every day,” she captioned the video in part.
The mom of two said people who have not been through the experience don’t “get a say” or “a vote.” Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
Heming said she wants to “build a deeper connection with a community that understands this journey.” Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
“That’s who I share for and so I can build a deeper connection with a community that understands this journey
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In the comments thread, Willis’ daughter Tallulah — whom he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore — praised her stepmother. “I love you so much. We love you so much. Thank you for all you do for us and our family,” she wrote.
On Tuesday’s special, Heming — who married Bruce in 2009 — revealed she made the “hard decision” to move the “Die Hard” star, 70, to a home not far from the one she shares with their daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.
“Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she told Sawyer. “He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
In an interview with Diane Sawyer on Tuesday, Heming revealed the action star lives in a separate home, not far from her and their two young daughters. Good Morning America
Heming confessed it was a “hard” decision and shared that she and their daughters visit often. Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
Heming stressed that she and her daughters frequently visit for breakfasts and dinners, and added that Willis has a full-time care team.
The action icon retired from acting in 2022 after an aphasia diagnosis. Bruce — who also shares grown daughters Rumer, 37, and Scout, 34, with Moore — was subsequently diagnosed with FTD in 2023.
Per the Mayo Clinic, the devastating condition affects the way people process written and spoken language, and interferes with speech. It can also cause mobility issues and behavioral changes.
The “Die Hard” actor, who shares three grown daughters with ex Demi Moore, retired from acting in 2022 after an aphasia diagnosis. emmahemingwillis/Instagram
The actor was diagnosed with FTD in 2023. demimoore/Instagram
In December, amid her 17th anniversary with Bruce, Heming addressed the “anger and grief” of living with the diagnosis.
“Anniversaries used to bring excitement — now, if I’m honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a pit in my stomach,” she wrote via Instagram at the time, adding that she gives herself “30 minutes” to sit with the question of “why him, why us.”
“Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love,” she continued. “I feel blessed to know it, and it’s because of him. I’d do it all over again and again in a heartbeat
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