Just last weekend, it was reported that Batman star Val Kilmer is battling cancer. According to multiple news outlets and even a Hollywood friend close to Kilmer, the cancer is reportedly serious. Michael Douglas publicly claimed that Val Kilmer is battling oral cancer (something Michael Douglas survived himself), and as Page Six reports, the Douglas’ prognosis of Val Kilmer’s condition was less than reassuring.
“Things don’t look good for him.”
Michael Douglas revealed that Val Kilmer is battling cancer https://t.co/48hJ2EKUy3 pic.twitter.com/DNjaagBHkN
— Variety (@Variety) November 1, 2016
Douglas “broke the news” of Val Kilmer’s failing health during a Q&A about a decades-old film the pair worked on together, The Ghost in the Darkness from 1996. Michael Douglas, who is generally a very private star, didn’t hold back on his commentary about Val Kilmer’s apparently fading health, drawing comparisons between Kilmer and himself, as well as their struggle with vicious form of cancer.
“Val was a wonderful guy who is dealing with exactly what I had.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI9GfzxX01E
Specifically, Michael Douglas has cancer of the tongue just a few years ago, something he eventually overcame, but at a great personal and professional cost. Douglas offered his prayers to an ailing Val Kilmer, adding that Kilmer’s cancer battle has largely kept the 1990’s Hollywood mainstay out of the public light in recent years.
While Michael Douglas was quick to report to the public that Val Kilmer is struggling with oral cancer, Kilmer himself has denied being sick. In 2015, talk of Val Kilmer’s health circulated online after the Tombstone actor was seen with a tracheotomy tube and breathing machine. During that time, photos of Val Kilmer looking ill and aged began making their rounds online.
Val Kilmer Removes Breathing Tube See His Grisly Scar … : https://t.co/Mc2dGQ1zdS ,, pic.twitter.com/qHDVjBR4d7
— BINGBING Cocktail (@BINGBING_CKTAIL) February 17, 2016
When fans and critics alike started speculating that the largely beloved Val Kilmer was battling cancer, Kilmer took to social media to shoot down the cancer claims, calling them “totally untrue.” In an October 2015 Facebook post, Val Kilmer stated that he’d sought medical treatment to confirm that he didn’t have cancer and wrote that medical professionals had confirmed him to be tumor and cancer-free.
Val Kilmer’s celebrity whistle-blower, Michael Douglas, took a similar approach back in 2010 when he misled the media regarding his cancer battle. Initially, Douglas told the world that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. In 2013, he admitted that it had been cancer of the tongue all along. While speaking of Val Kilmer’s reported cancer struggle last weekend, Douglas recounted his own battle with the deadly disease.
“I had to deal with chemo, radiation, which is a seven-week period, and a bunch of weeks either side.”
I have a problem with Mr. Douglas revealing Val Kilmer’s health information it’s not for him to tell.
— Jae Cross (@thepicky1) November 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/mac1196352/status/793377154973196288
Is it just me but isn’t the whole disclosure thing a matter for Mr Kilmer?
— Irina Asanova (@IrinaAsanova1) November 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/YESemite/status/793325883025006592
While Val Kilmer has repeatedly been hospitalized over recent years for undisclosed “throat problems,” even confirming in 2015 that he’d undergone some kind of treatment that caused his throat to swell severely. However, Val never spoke publicly about what the procedure had been. Val Kilmer has, however, always denied that his throat-related health problems were caused by cancer.
“I have not had a tumor, or a tumor operations, or any operation. I had a complication where the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the UCLA ICU. Friends have assisted who know my spiritual convictions and have been most sensitive and kind for the extra effort in making sure there’s minimum gossip and silly talk.”
Found on #mrdougellin Instagram page. Great one!! #sherpa #valKilmer ? ~Ivonne <3 https://t.co/pZtAtELAYM pic.twitter.com/Foh4YeJH5O
— Ivonne (@Love_a_n_d_Sun) October 21, 2016
As Fox News reports, Val Kilmer appears to be fighting against the rumors that he has potentially terminal cancer in a way only the notoriously tight-lipped Kilmer can do. Rather than directly addressing Douglas’ claims that he’s suffering from cancer and possibly fighting a losing battle, Val Kilmer is reportedly heading back to work just days after Michael Douglas’ headline-making interview.
New post from Val Twain man in https://t.co/UCwrMXuYVt ? ~Ivonne <3 #valKilmer #CinemaTwain #citizentwain #show #marktwain pic.twitter.com/1nukAPJEtr
— Ivonne (@Love_a_n_d_Sun) October 21, 2016
Reportedly, Val Kilmer is going to be appearing on November 10 and November 17 at Los Angeles screenings of his film, Citizen Twain. The film is based on Kilmer’s live, one-man show of the same name. Kilmer has also been dabbling in the world of sculpture with a piece on sale for $150,000 in a prestigious California gallery.
Despite Michael Douglas’ grim prognosis of Kilmer’s health, other friends say he’s doing well and recovering. As for Val Kilmer himself, he has yet to publicly admit that he is battling (or has battled) cancer in the first place.
[Featured Image by Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock]
