Update: 10/27/06
Michael J. Fox: I Wasn't Acting In Ad
Michael J. Fox Photo by: Stephen Lovekin / WireImage Michael J. Fox says he wasn't "off his medication or acting" in an ad for a Democratic political candidate, as Rush Limbaugh has charged, but was in fact overmedicated.
In a CBS Evening News interview with Katie Couric on Thursday, Fox explained that the effects of his medication are hard to predict: "I just take it and it kicks in when it kicks in. Sometimes it kicks in too hard and then you get what's called dyskinesia, which is that rocking motion."
When Couric said Limbaugh had suggested Fox intentionally skipped his medication to increase his symptoms and appear more sympathetic, the actor said, "The irony is that I was too medicated and was dyskinesic. Because the thing about being symptomatic is that it's not comfortable. No one wants to be symptomatic – it's like wanting to hit yourself with a hammer."
Michael J. Fox Responds to Limbaugh
http://tinyurl.com/ycuhx4
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 25, 2006 03:05PM EST UPDATED
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Michael J. Fox has responded to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who suggested that Fox's Parkinson's-related tremors in a TV ad for a Democratic politician were exaggerated.
In the ad for Missouri Senate challenger Claire McCaskill, who supports stem-cell research, Fox exhibits the severe shaking and stiffness associated with Parkinson's disease. But Limbaugh said on his syndicated radio program Tuesday that Fox was "either off his medication or acting."
Campaigning in Chicago for Democratic Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth, Fox shot back, "My pills are working really well right now," the Associated Press reports.
Limbaugh said on his radio show, "If this was not an act, then I apologize." He went on to say, however, that Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited...
Missourians Against Human Cloning, a group that opposes stem-cell research, will air its own ad during Game 4 of the World Series Wednesday night, the AP reports. The ad will feature celebrities such as Patricia Heaton, The Passion of the Christ star Jim Caviezel and the St. Louis Cardinals' Jeff Suppan, the starting pitcher in the night's game against the Detroit Tigers.
In Fox's 30-second spot for McCaskill, which has been viewed by more than 1 million people on YouTube.com, the actor, 45, tells voters, "What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans. Americans like me."
Parkinson's is a chronic, progressive disorder of the central nervous system that renders patients increasingly unable to control their movements.
Fox was first diagnosed with the disease in 1991 and went public with it in a 1998 PEOPLE cover story. In 2000, he stopped acting full-time because of the disease, devoting himself to spending time with his family. (click link at top for full story)
Argh! Rush Limbaugh is among the slimiest, most despicable entities ( I refuse to call him "human") that's ever stepped up to a microphone (and he can shove his if...then apology, too).
I don't care what Michael J. Fox's politics are but I do care that Limbaugh used his right to free speech to belittle Fox, a person with a life-crippling ailment, for exerting his right to speak freely.
As a heart failure patient for whom stem cell work thus far has not yet been indicated to "cure" my condition I do in fact identify with Fox's situation. I too, lost my career (as a clinical counsellor) to my illness. Like Fox, I've carved out a way to live with my illness and it happens to include a nice slice of volunteer work each week. Of course, Fox's celebrity allows him to make a hugely greater financial impact than I do and sincere big props to him that he's still able to help.
I'd really like to put in print how I feel towards Limbaugh.
Instead I'll use this euphemism: Frak Rush Limbaugh.
P.S. Watch the YouTube video (link above--just type in Michael J Fox and scroll to it). Observe the camera angle that doesn't allow the viewer to see just how bad Fox's condition is now. The saddest aspect of watching him on video is how he continues to fight for his dignity by holding his right arm down with his left in attempt to control the shaking.
Michael J. Fox is one of the nicest human beings on the planet. When I was a sportswriter, I met him while covering the Boston Bruins. He's a huge hockey fan and took the time to have a real conversation with me. He actually asked me questions about my life -- how many celebrities would do that? He is very brave and has every right to draw attention to the cause.
Posted by: Dan | October 27, 2006 at 05:14 AM
...the ad shows him to be much more spastic than how he's otherwise been.
I haven't been following Fox closely but I do know that Parkinson's, like many other chronic progressive conditions can manifest itself more or less severely depending on whether the person with the disease is overtaxed (or sometimes for no good reason at all). People with with chronic, progressive disorders refer to their "good" and "bad" days. My opinion is that Fox was having a "bad" day and since he's doing a barrage of commercials went ahead with the filming instead of waiting for a good day to do so. Of course, only Fox knows the exact circumstances and how he felt that day. It would be interesting to hear from other Parkinson's sufferers who have be dealing with the disease for 15 years as Fox has. One would think the symptoms would be pretty severe by now.
Posted by: Cyn | October 25, 2006 at 10:53 PM
Granted that Rush sucks wet farts out of dead pigeons, but I can see his POV. Compared to other recent clips of Fox, the ad shows him to be much more spastic than how he's otherwise been.
Posted by: Her Brother | October 25, 2006 at 08:20 PM