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Emily Willis’ Rep Issues Health Update As Star Suffers From ‘Locked-In Syndrome’
The lawyer representing Emily Willis has issued a health update for the star, two years after she suffered a heart attack which led to ‘irreversible brain damage.’
The 29-year-old, whose real name is Litzy Lara Banuelos, was attending a rehab facility to help treat her ketamine addiction in Malibu, US, when she suffered the horrific medical incident, which is believed to have left her permanently disabled.
She was found unconscious at the rehab center on February 4, 2024, and a pulse didn’t return until 30 to 40 minutes later, during which time her brain was starved of oxygen, leading to brain damage.
Following the incident at Summit Malibu rehab facility, Willis’ mom Yesenia Lara Cooper filed a lawsuit against the facility and its parent company Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers.
She alleges that her daughter’s health declined during her stay in rehab, including symptoms like infection, dehydration and physical distress that was not sufficiently dealt with by staff, according to court documents.
Emily Willis’ lawyer issues health update
The lawyer representing Willis’ mom Cooper throughout the lawsuit has now issued a health update for the adult content star.
“Fortunately, Litzy is improving, although be it slow and arduous,” James A. Morris Jr. said, according to the Mirror US.
“Litzy is a fighter and is committed to returning to a functional lifestyle that will ease any burden on others to care for her.”
This update appears a lot more positive than the message conveyed at the end of 2025, when Morris confirmed Willis was ‘bedridden due to her neurological injuries.’
Shortly after the lawsuit had been announced, the lawyer said the content creator was ‘in the danger zone from the moment she walked through the [rehab] doors.’
“She needed very, very intense medical treatment,” he told PornCrush in August 2025.
“They didn’t diagnose that upon entry, nor did they monitor carefully enough how quickly she was digressing.”
Accusations of neglect against the rehab facility
Morris has criticised the treatment center for allowing Willis to ‘have a say in her medical treatment,’ claiming that’s not what should be done with someone who is in ‘severe health danger.’
He says staff should have transferred her to hospital earlier and let doctors put a feeding tube in and ‘treat her properly while she was still speaking and walking.’
The day before she went into cardiac arrest, Willis was said to be experiencing hit and cold chills, tremors, headaches, increased heart rate, difficulty walking and feeling disorientated, but she was not taken to hospital.
However, Summit Malibu has since claimed it didn’t have the authority to transport Willis to a hospital if she didn’t consent, according to court documents.
“It is undisputed that during her stay, (Willis) had refused to follow medical recommendations and take her medications,” the court papers state.
“She refused to go to urgent care or the hospital voluntarily, despite being encouraged to do so by Summit Malibu.”
Settlement agreed between Willis’ family and Summit Malibu
As of last week it’s being reported that a tentative settlement has been reached between Cooper and Summit Malibu.
Although the terms have not been revealed, MyNewsLA.com has reported that the facility’s attorneys had ‘filed court papers on 24 February with Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young notifying him of a conditional accord in the case brought by Yesenia Lara Cooper, along with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by 1 September.
Emily Willis’ career before her health decline
Prior to needing acute medical care, Willis was an adult film actor, which earned her the award of Penthouse Pet of the Month in May 2019. She later went on to win AVN Awards for Female Performer of the Year and Best All-Girl Movie or Anthology, before making the decision to leave the adult industry.
In 2023, she appeared in the music video of Grammy-nominated single Hive Mind by Slipknot and was reportedly set to move into mainstream acting that year before her health declined.
Willis’ ex-partner previously spoke out about their relationship and the ‘very close’ friendship they shared prior to her illness.
Mike Majlak spoke on Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast in 2024, saying: “It’s bad, actually. She was incredible.
“We had a really great friendship and relationship, but she had her own struggles, and she recently, while at rehab, fell into a coma, and she’s been in a vegetative state.”
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