American pop culture icon and fitness guru Richard Simmons has been released from the hospital after he was admitted following reports of “bizarre” behavior.
According to TMZ, which broke the story, Simmons was discharged from Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles on the morning of Saturday, June 5.
Simmons was admitted to the hospital on Friday night after 911 dispatchers received a call from individuals who were in Simmons’ Hollywood Hills residence (while it has not been confirmed, TMZ states that the callers were “a longtime friend” and Simmons’ housekeeper). Simmons was supposedly incoherent—enough to warrant a 911 call.
TMZ also conjectured that Simmons might have “suffered a stroke” or was “suffering from dementia or some other ailment,” though none of these have been confirmed.
Simmons, who frequented the media circuit as a TV personality for decades, has not appeared in public since 2014. Earlier this year, the exercise mogul made the news rounds after his former friend and masseuse Mauro Oliveira proclaimed Simmons was being held hostage by his maid Teresa Reveles. Among Oliveira’s many accusations—like that Simmons’ brother Lenny and his manager Michael Catalano were both in on the conspiracy—Oliveira also accused Reveles of being a bonafide witch. As Oliveira told The New York Daily News:
“I think tormented is the best word to describe [Richard Simmons’] mental state,” Oliveira says. “I think it was (caused by) black magic, witchcraft. That’s not close to your culture, but to my culture in Brazil, and to Mexicans”— Teresa Reveles is from Mexico — “that is a real thing. They invoke the spirits. They light black candles, and red and blue candles. I’ve never participated. I only saw from a distance. But at services, they do special meals. They offer meals to the bad spirits, and light candles, invoking with words.”
...yeah.
Simmons immediately commented after the rumors perpetuated by Oliveira became national news.
“This is how I want to live my life right now,” he said to the press at the time. “And to all the people that are worried about me, please don’t be. If I was in any trouble, if I was hurting in any way, I would reach out. It is time right now for Richard Simmons to take care of Richard Simmons.”
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