Tallulah Willis defends sharing photos of Bruce after dementia diagnosis

WASHINGTON — The daughter of legendary actor Bruce Willis is addressing criticism she faced about an Instagram post showing her father after his dementia diagnosis.

The set of photos, posted on June 22, shows 31-year-old Tallulah Willis hanging out with her father at her grandmother’s home. One of the shots features Tallulah’s fiancé, Justin Acee, and Bruce Willis smiling and posing for the camera. 

“Sunday funday at Grams ! Grateful 🕊️,” the post was captioned.

Another of the photos shows Tallulah hugging her father. 

Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The condition, also known as FTD, is the cause of approximately 10% to 20% of dementia cases, according to Mayo Clinic.

But some on social media criticized the post Tallulah shared as exploitative, saying that she didn’t have her father’s permission to share those photos, and that he couldn’t give permission because of his condition. 

“I don’t think you should expose your dad to the public! He is vulnerable! And some things should be kept private! You don’t have his permission to post it!” one person wrote in the comments.

Tallulah responded directly to that person, saying she made the “judgement call” to share the photos publicly because of her dad’s notoriety. 

“Hi. I hear that. As a family we use our discretion when posting,” Tallulah Willis wrote. “Today was a great day filled with smiles. I made the judgement call to show that to the world, because I know what he means to everyone.”

Despite the backlash from a handful of commenters, the majority of responses to the Instagram post were positive, with some commenters connecting with their own stories of loved ones battling dementia. 

“I love when you post photos making memories with your dad. I was my mother’s caregiver and she passed way in April from dementia and I cherish the memories I made with her, during hospice, forever ❤️,” one person wrote. 

It’s not the first time Tallulah and other members of the Willis family have spoken publicly about Bruce’s diagnosis. Since 2023, the family has been open about the struggle of dealing with his dementia and its effects on him and his loved ones. 

Tallulah shared during a 2023 episode of Barrymore’s daytime talk show that they has been so open about her dad’s condition because it’s who they are as a family and in order to spread awareness about FTD.

“If we can take something that we’re struggling with as a family and individually, to help other people, to turn it around, to make something beautiful about it. That’s really special for us,” Tallulah said.