A July 23 Facebook post said actor Bruce Willis was dead, but he’s not

Actor Bruce Willis’ family announced in 2022 that Willis had been diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that affects how people communicate. About a year later, the family revealed a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia. 

People who have frontotemporal dementia can experience symptoms such as changing personalities and language loss; the symptoms worsen over time. There’s no cure or treatment. 

But we found no evidence that Willis has died, as a recent Facebook post claims. Death hoaxes about Willis have circulated the internet since his health condition was made public. 

"R.I.P," reads text next to a photo of Willis, alongside the dates "1955-2024." 

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on July 26, 2024 in a Facebook post

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This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

We looked for but found no credible news stories or statements from Willis’ family saying that the actor died. 

His wife, Emma Heming Willis, has spoken publicly and actively posted about frontotemporal dementia and Willis on her Instagram account, but recent posts make no mention of his supposed death. Rather, they’re about dogs, the Fourth of July and frontotemporal dementia awareness. She shared photos of him in a June 27 post about her birthday celebrations, and before that on June 16 in a Father’s Day post. 

We rate claims Willis died False.