Actor Morgan Freeman had to cancel a planned press trip to the U.K. after falling ill.
According to Daily Mail, Freeman, 86, was scheduled to promote his new spy thriller, "Special Ops: Lioness" with co-stars Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman but declined after coming down with a "fever," with doctors saying he caught a "contagious infection."
Saldana and Kidman were present at a string of press events in London, and also appeared at a screening of their Paramount+ show Tuesday, as well as on "The One Show," during which host Alex Jones said she was "gutted" Freeman that was not there.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Freeman's representative said the actor is recovering.
"Morgan has a fever and his doctor felt he had a contagious infection, so he canceled his trip," the representative said. "He is fine now."
Earlier this year, Freeman drew attention at the Oscars earlier for wearing a compression glove on his left hand to help with blood circulation and pain in his left hand after a major car accident.
In 2008, Freeman was injured in a car crash in Mississippi. Freeman, 71 at the time, was driving late at night when his car swerved off the road, flipped several times, and landed in a ditch.
Emergency workers had to cut him out of the wreckage, and he was airlifted to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Freeman suffered multiple injuries in the crash, including broken bones in his arm and hand. He underwent four hours of surgery to repair the damage, but he was left with permanent nerve damage to his left hand, and chronic shoulder pain.
Freeman made a full recovery from the crash, but he has said that he still experiences pain and numbness in his left hand.
Freeman also suffers from fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder that affects the musculoskeletal system. It is characterized by widespread pain and tenderness, as well as fatigue, sleep problems, and cognitive difficulties.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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