BATTERED BRUCE’S AUTISM HEARTACHE
Blaming himself for his daughter’s shocking diagnosis
TRAGIC action hero Bruce Willis’ last days are haunted by the bombshell revelation his 30-year-old daughter, Tallulah, is autistic — and sources say he’s blaming himself!
Insiders claim the 69-yearold, who fathered Tallulah and her two older sisters with first wife Demi Moore, fears he passed along the bad genes that ultimately triggered his own savage brain disease, frontotemporal dementia, to his daughters.
With medical experts saying the two conditions are likely linked, Bruce is devastated and reeling with remorse as his disease destroys his ability to communicate and slowly ravages his mind.
“Bruce and the rest of the family had suspected that Tallulah was autistic for quite some time now,” says a family insider. “It was an open secret.
“Tallulah herself suspected, but it wasn’t confirmed until fairly recently. Bruce blamed himself. He thought it was all his fault.”
Tallulah recently shared a throwback video that showed her playing with her dad’s head and ear as he did a redcarpet interview. She wrote in the caption, “Tell me your [sic] autistic without telling me your autistic.”
In the comments, a fan asks her if she was diagnosed as a child. She replies: “Actually this is the first time I’ve ever publicly shared my diagnosis. Found out this summer and it’s changed my life.”
Tallulah’s diagnosis comes two years after the family first revealed Bruce was suffering from aphasia in 2022, and later, in February 2023, said he had a dementia disorder.
According to doctors at UCLA Health — who did not treat Willis or his kid — autism is highly inheritable. At least 50 percent of genetic risk is predicted by common genetic variation and another 20 percent is due to spontaneous mutations or predictable inheritance patterns.
Recent research suggests autism genes are usually inherited from the father.
Life span expert Dr. Gabe Mirkin says it “can be inherited. Or, it can be something somebody did during pregnancy. There can be associated risk factors with autism. There is still a lot we don’t know!”
The source adds, “That may be cold comfort for Bruce, who’s blamed himself and his wild, partying lifestyle as a young man!”