The following article includes mentions of addiction and suicide.
As a self-proclaimed “nepo baby,” Scout Willis is well aware she was born into privilege. But living under the shadow cast by her parents, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, didn’t keep her path clear of all obstacles. On the contrary, life in the spotlight caused considerable damage to her self-esteem and overall life and well-being.
Since she was a child, Scout and her sisters, Rumer and Tallulah Willis, have had their looks dissected online and in the media, with the general consensus being they never lived up to Moore and Bruce’s good looks. Even if the public believed she failed to inherit her mother’s beauty, Scout shared some of Moore’s biggest struggles. Like the “Ghost” star, Scout started dealing with alcoholism at a young age, an addiction her sisters also suffered from.
Now a musician, Scout seems to have turned her life around. But her life took another big hit when her father was diagnosed with dementia. Thankfully, she once again has her tight-knit family to get her through. Scout may have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but she hasn’t been protected from all suffering.
Scout Willis dealt with an alcohol addiction
Scout Willis spent a good part of her youth turning to alcohol to cope with various challenges. That changed in 2016 when she tackled her addiction and embarked on her journey into sobriety. But the decision to stop drinking wasn’t easy, not just because of the addiction itself but also because of the social consequences attached to it. “Getting sober can feel really isolating at times and I think that’s why the community aspect of recovery is so important,” she told Consequence in 2022.
To ensure she found the necessary strength, Scout started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to find like-minded people. The meetings kept her on the right path. “I leave feeling like I am part of some cool club,” she said. They even inspired the song “Goodbye,” released on her 2022 eponymous album. “I wanted to make a song that felt like a party at the beach, a sober anthem that wasn’t a total bummer,” she explained.
Scout also had her family to lean on. She got sober a few months before her older sister, Rumer Willis, and two years after her younger sister, Tallulah Willis. Bruce Willis’ oldest daughters’ journey came on the heels of Demi Moore’s addiction struggles, which hit them full-force when she relapsed in 2012. Finding themselves in this shared journey helped strengthen their bond. “The place we are all at together with each other is the best place we have ever been,” Rumer said on “Addiction Talk” in 2021.
Scout was arrested for underage drinking
Scout Willis’ alcohol use had repercussions beyond her mental and physical health. In June 2012, the year of Demi Moore’s relapse, Willis was arrested for underage drinking after police spotted her with a beer in Union Square in New York City. Then 20, she was also caught using a fake I.D. She spent the night in jail and was released on bail for the two misdemeanors the following morning. The arrest happened just a month before her 21st birthday.
Willis had tried to fight the charges, arguing the Pakistani beer she was charged with drinking didn’t exist in the U.S., the New York Post reported. Her defense argued that Pakistan’s only beer producer, Murree Brewery, doesn’t make 8-ounce cans. “I’m requesting the DA let me inspect this so-called 8-ounce Pakistani beer can,” defense lawyer Stacey Richman said. “I don’t know whether they have it. I don’t know whether it’s beer. I don’t know if it’s a Sprite.”
Despite her lawyer’s best efforts, Willis’ case moved forward. But it didn’t end so badly. In July 2012, Willis was ordered to complete two days of community service, avoiding jail time or probation. Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss the case if Willis completed her sentence and had no run-ins with the law in the next six months. “[Prosecutors] took a logical approach to assessing the situation,” Richman said, the Los Angeles Times reported. Willis completed her community service that October.
She went viral over deeply concerning tweets in 2012
The year 2012 was pretty difficult for Scout Willis and her family. In addition to her arrest and her mother’s addiction, Scout went viral early that year when a blogger uncovered a secret X, previously known as Twitter, account she had set up with disturbing messages about hating her parents, doing drugs, and having suicidal thoughts. “Casually took MDMA at this little bar downtown,” one tweet read (via Page Six).
Scout also made serious allegations against a famous photographer. “Last night Terry Richardson tried to [bleep] me, I didn’t let him, obviously. But I did let him photograph me topless in the bathroom,” another tweet read. A subsequent tweet painted a grim picture of her opinion of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. “I hate capitalism like I hate my parents, but they both serve me so well,” it read. Scout also suggested she may be suffering from mental health issues. “I had thoughts of suicide, lol,” she wrote.
Scout deleted the account and explained that she set it up with two other Brown University students for a school project. “This was done to illustrate how social media is utilized and that in today’s social media culture, you can create a significant twitter following based entirely on fabricated lies,” a rep told Us Weekly. However, many wondered if the tweets were partly based on reality. After all, Richardson went on to be shunned from the industry following a series of sexual misconduct allegations.
Her mental health took a hit after Bruce Willis’ diagnosis
Fans around the world were devastated by Bruce Willis’ dementia diagnosis, but they could only imagine what the news meant to his loved ones. While his family initially announced his retirement due to an aphasia diagnosis on social media in March 2022, they revealed the “Die Hard” star was also suffering from frontotemporal dementia in February 2023. Those months of uncertainty took a toll on the Willis clan.
Scout Willis was no different. “Feeling emotionally tired and a bit overwhelmed,” she shared in an Instagram Story a day after the family’s announcement (via People). But she was also grateful to grasp the extent of her father’s impact on fans’ lives. “Yet also very in awe of the love so many people have for my papa,” she wrote. A month later, Scout reflected on the duality of celebrating a person’s life while losing them slowly. “Today is not necessarily an easy day,” she captioned a March 2023 Instagram post for Bruce’s birthday.
But she wanted to honor all of her feelings. “It’s a day full of so deep love, and our grief really does show us the depth of our loving for someone. So I’m trying to be with both today,” she continued. In subsequent posts, she continued to explore the complex lessons Bruce’s health struggles have taught her. “What patience, compassion and presence we learn through the greatest challenges in our lives,” she captioned a June 2023 post.
Scout Willis has been bullied online over her looks
As the daughters of two Hollywood sex symbols, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah Willis have been subjected to media criticism since they were young. Unfortunately, a lot of the comments have been about their looks. While it started when they were still kids, the scrutiny over their looks persisted. “I really feel for them because at this point they’re basically famous for being so ugly,” one Reddit user commented on a post dedicated to discussing the Willis girls’ facial features.
Another user dedicated time to dissecting the reasons they are so-called unattractive. “Scout’s face is too long, her chin too pointy, and her eyes are too close together,” the Redditor argued. While Scout hasn’t been as open about the public’s obsession with her and her sisters’ looks, Tallulah has spoken her mind more than once. After an August 2024 Instagram video of the sisters dancing with Demi Moore and Rumer’s toddler, Louetta, attracted similar commentary, she took to social media to draw attention to online bullying.
“People always seemed shocked when we share how cruel and mean the comments on us have been our whole lives, so it’s important to me to call out this person to highlight an example of just regular Tuesday c–tynes,” she slammed in a since-deleted post (via Page Six). In a 2015 Teen Vogue essay, Tallulah revealed how the media portrayal of her affected her self-esteem. “I thought, I am a hideous, disgusting-looking person,” she wrote.
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