Michael J. Fox’s rare public appearance at the 2024 BAFTAs left many fans in tears. Fox was greeted with a standing ovation as he took the stage. He also stunned viewers when he rose from his wheelchair on stage despite battling Parkinson’s disease.
Michael J. Fox, famous for his role in “Back To The Future,” courageously continues to navigate life with Parkinson’s disease. On February 18, 2024, Fox delivered an unexpected appearance at the Baftas to present the top film award.
Welcoming the 62-year-old onto the stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London, was Bafta host David Tennant, who hailed him as an authentic legend of cinema. The Canadian-American actor graced the stage in a wheelchair but insisted on rising at the podium to bestow the prize upon Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.”
Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the 1990s, seldom emerges for public engagements. He garnered a thunderous standing ovation, with numerous online users expressing their emotional reactions upon witnessing his presence on stage.
“Seeing Michael J Fox enter the room to a full standing ovation made me cry. Living legend and a Hero,” a user commented. One person gushed, “Okay they’re really trying to make me cry bringing Michael J Fox on to present the award.”
Another person said they cried when the audience gave Fox a standing ovation while he was on stage. “So emotional,” the person added. More emotional users asked, “michael j fox standing ovation. anyone else cried.” A fan also confessed, “THE MOMENT MICHAEL J FOX CAME ON TO THE STAGE I WAS IN FLOODS OF TEARS THE MAN IS A LEGEND.”
Davis Guggenheim’s film, “Still: A Michael J Fox Movie,” garnered a nomination for Best Documentary but lost out to “20 Days In Mariupol.” Despite this, Fox exuded positivity onstage, expressing that films have the power to bring people together regardless of their backgrounds or circumstances.
The movie star added, “There’s a reason why they say movies are magic because movies can change your day. It can change your outlook. Sometimes it can change your life.”
Michael J. Fox attended the BAFTAs with his wife Tracy Pollan, who has been a steadfast supporter through his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Together, they made a stunning appearance on the red carpet, showcasing their enduring partnership and commitment to each other.
Fox, who has survived over 30 years of living with the incurable disease, has spoken frankly about death, saying people should not be surprised if he were to pass away any day from now.
The veteran actor was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease when he was 29 in 1991. It is an incurable degenerative disease that kills most patients within twenty years of diagnosis.
However, Fox is one of the few who has beat the odds, having lived over three decades with the disease. Still, the 62-year-old philanthropist is suffering physically, as he now relies on pills to speak properly to combat paralysis of facial muscles.
In addition to his diagnosis, Fox has faced other health issues, including a spinal tumor that almost left him paralyzed. Moreover, he nearly lost his hand due to an infection and has had a few broken bones over the years.Fox describes himself as “tough,” considering all he has been through, including constantly falling over. In a recent interview, he was asked whether anything scares him, and the film star said, “Anything that would put my family in jeopardy.”
The activist has spoken candidly about death, most recently saying he is not afraid of dying. The retired actor said someday, he will eventually “run out of gas,” adding if that day comes, he will accept it. “[…]If I were to pass away tomorrow, it would be premature, but it wouldn’t be unheard of. […] I don’t fear that,” he noted.
The more the disease advances, the more it requires for him to take medication to animate the muscles until it reaches a point where the medicine becomes less effective or stops working altogether.
Fox experiences side effects as a result, and one of the worst side effects of his medication is dyskinesia — involuntary movements and tics. Despite his diagnosis, the Hollywood star has an interesting perspective on the disease. He said although it has taken things away from him, “it has changed my life in so many positive ways.”
When Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he was in disbelief because he thought he was way too young. The doctor told him that his career would possibly come to an end in a decade.
Fox, best known for appearing in “Family Ties,” alongside Justine Bateman, had kept his diagnosis under wraps for years and collected paychecks from projects that he felt were beneath his talents. He ultimately suffered a breakdown and ended up in therapy after self-medicating with alcohol. But he sobered up following AA meetings.
Fox kept his Parkinson’s secret until 1998. That year, he was forced to talk about it because a media outlet was about to break the story about his health that was affecting the schedule of his sitcom, “Spin City.”
The television star announced the news to broadcast journalist Barbara Walters and People. Many people became opinionated and asked why Fox kept it to himself, but such comments did not faze him because the only opinion that mattered was his.
Most importantly, his beloved wife, actress Tracy Pollan, had been by his side. Fox said his spouse could have easily left him, but she chose to stay with him. In an April 2023 interview, the beloved star admitted that his health had declined even more, adding it is “getting tougher” as he suffers every day.
