14 DAY TRIAL // Val Kilmer is one of the few actors of the “older” generation to experience online bullying to the same degree - if not worse - as younger stars, who are active on social media. After being bullied for his weight gain, he was praised for losing it last year and then he was concern-trolled when he continued to drop the pounds.
As of early 2015, rumors have been claiming that his health took a turn for the worse and that he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. This is also when he started covering his neck and occasionally the lower part of his face in public, and though he denied all these reports, they’re still very much around.
Val Kilmer spotted at LAX, covers his face with a mask
A couple of days ago, a slim Kilmer was spotted by the paparazzi at LAX and he was again trying to keep something hidden from view, as the photo attached to this article can confirm. Needless to say, his latest attempt to do so only added more weight to reports that he was truly battling throat cancer and had undergone surgery sometime this year.
Unlike on previous occasions when he would just wrap a scarf around his neck, this time, Kilmer went through the trouble of covering his entire face, with the help of a pulled-up hoodie, a scarf and a pair of sunglasses.
He also tried to outsmart the paparazzi by shielding his face with his hand, but they still got the photos they wanted.
Available below is the actor’s most recent post on Facebook, which went online at the beginning of June. He was again denying reports that he had gone under the knife for a throat tumor or that his health had deteriorated in any way.
At the same time, he thanked fans for their support and tried to assure them that they had no reason to worry.
But if they had nothing to worry about, then why does he keep hiding his face and neck?
Val Kilmer is reportedly refusing medical treatment
To better understand the fuss around this new set of paparazzi photos and see why Kilmer’s fans are so worried, a bit of context is needed. In September 2014, the first photos of Kilmer after his weight loss emerged online, followed by reports that he had started working out and paying closer attention to his diet.
He wasn’t getting in shape for a movie role, he had simply looked one day in the mirror and, not happy with what he’d seen, decided to make a change.
By December, it was already clear that he was continuing to lose weight, to the point where he was starting to look unhealthy. This is when the first reports of a health issue emerged.
In February 2015, news broke and was later confirmed by his publicist Liz Rosenberg that Kilmer had been rushed to the hospital one week before, for bleeding from the mouth. Apparently, he had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor that he had refused to have removed, because he was a Christian Scientist.
Reports said that his family was worried sick he would die before he agreed to have the surgery. In response, Kilmer insisted (and even picked a fight with USA Today for it) that there was nothing wrong with him: he didn’t have a tumor, cancerous or otherwise, and he had not had surgery.
As you can see from the post below, he says that his newfound love for scarves is a fashion statement and not a necessity because he’s hiding something.