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Tallulah Willis at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party: "Tell me you're autistic without saying you're autistic"

Photo: Danny Moloshok / REUTERS

The youngest daughter of action star Bruce Willis and actress Demi Moore has spoken out with a very personal message.

Tallulah Willis made her autism diagnosis public on Instagram.

She posted an old video that shows her as a young girl on her father Bruce's arm at a red carpet event.

While the actor answers questions from members of the press, daughter Tallulah repeatedly strokes his bald head and plays with his ear, whereupon Willis gives her a calm but admonishing look.

"Tell me you're autistic without saying you're autistic," Willis writes about the video.

One follower praised Willis as brave and inspiring and also wanted to know whether she was diagnosed with autism as a child.

"This is actually the first time you've shared your diagnosis with the public," Willis then wrote.

She found out last summer and the diagnosis changed her life.

Judging by the sun emoji, in a positive way.

This is also indicated by another exchange with an Instagram user who commented on Willis' video with a "welcome" and wanted to know whether Willis was now relieved.

Their answer was clear: “Exponential.”

This isn't the first time Willis has shared details about her mental and physical health with the public.

The 30-year-old has spoken openly to her followers about her health in the past.

In May 2023, she wrote in an essay for Vogue that she suffered from anorexia nervosa, depression, addiction and ADHD.

»When I first sought psychiatric treatment at the age of 20, my medical information found its way into the Daily Mail.

At that time, the decision to tell my story was made for me,” Willis says in the essay.

»Now, nine years and a whole lot of therapy later, I can make this decision myself.«

A period of suffering in the long shadow of her famous parents

Willis documented her healing journey and progress on her Instagram account, receiving support from followers and family alike.

Willis was also open about the not always easy relationship with her famous parents.

She didn't speak to mother Demi Moore for about three years.

"It wasn't easy growing up in such a famous family and struggling, as I did, to find a spot of light in the long shadows of my parents," said Willis in the article for Vogue.

»But more and more often I have the feeling that I am standing in this light.«

Father Bruce ended his acting career in 2022 after his family revealed that he was suffering from frontotemporal dementia.

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