Jerod Harris/Getty ImagesVal Kilmer couldn't quite get his words out during a public appearance Thursday, just a week after he was rumored to be suffering from cancer.
Last Tuesday, the actor denied comments made by his colleague Michael Douglas, who claimed Kilmer was "dealing with exactly what I had, and things don't look too good for him." Douglas famously battled throat cancer, but revealed in an interview with Matt Lauer this year that the tumor on the base of his tongue was gone.
"I love Michael Douglas but he is misinformed," the 56-year-old responded on Facebook. "The last time I spoke to him was almost two years ago, when I asked him for a referral for a specialist to get a diagnosis for a lump in my throat, which prevented me from continuing a tour of my play CITIZEN TWAIN. I ended up using a team at UCLA and have no cancer whatsoever. I still have a swollen tongue and am rehabbing steadily."
Fans witnessed the results of that swollen tongue in person on Thursday when Kilmer presented the film version of his one-man play Citizen Twain to an audience in Los Angeles.
"I went into rehearsals down in Florida and started having trouble with my speech. Obviously I'm still recovering. My tongue swelled up and I canceled the tour. As I'm recovering I'm showing this," he reportedly told the crowd, according to People.
"Thanks to all those of you who came out to say hello and watch my film on Mark Twain last night. That standing ovation is going to fuel me for quite a while. It was humbling and I'm grateful. Especially because it's such an emotional and sobering time for so many people," he began in a lengthy message on his Facebook page posted the next day.
"Fight. Care. Trust Love. And fight some more. Friends you don't know you have will show up and help you," he concluded. "I can testify."