Haley Joel Osment shares sweet tribute to “true legend” Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis' family announced this week that he's "stepping away" from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia
Earlier this week, Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer Willis shared a statement announcing that her father would be “stepping away” from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that impacts a person’s ability to speak and understand language. Today, Haley Joel Osment, who obviously worked with Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense, posted a tribute to him on Instagram.
In the post, Osment refers to Willis as a “true legend” who has “enriched all of our lives with a singular career that spans nearly half a century.” He also says that he’s “so grateful” for the chance to work with him, adding that he “wanted to express the respect and deep admiration” he has for Willis and his family. You can see Osment’s post on his Instagram page at this link, but here’s his full statement:
It’s been difficult to find the right words for someone I’ve always looked up to—first on the big screen, and then by some wild stroke of luck, in person. He’s a true legend who has enriched all of our lives with a singular career that spans nearly half a century. I am so grateful for what I got to witness firsthand, and for the enormous body of work he built for us to enjoy for years and years to come. I just wanted to express the respect and deep admiration I have for Bruce and his family as they move forward with the courage and high spirits that have always defined them.
Years ago, as accusations that Willis was “difficult” to work with started to come up, Osment had nothing but nice things to say about his Sixth Sense co-star. In a HuffPost video that has apparently been lost to history in the years since (but was reported on by E! News at the time), Osment said that everyone working on the film was so excited to be involved with something so special that they were careful not to “mess it up.” Cop Out director Kevin Smith, one of the people who has talked about issues he had working with Willis, says he now feels “like an asshole” for making “petty complaints” about him.