Val Kilmer Spotted With Tracheostomy Tube, Sparks Rumors Kilmer Has Throat Tumor: Kilmer Confuses Fans About ‘Top Gun 2’ [Video]

Fans are fearing for Val Kilmer again after the actor was spotted wearing a tracheostomy tube while walking in Malibu, California. The tracheostomy is a breathing aid and supports rumors that Kilmer is unwell with a possible throat tumor, reports Hollywood Life.

Val has adamantly denied he faces any health issues, reports People, telling fans just two months ago that he has “no tumor or infection of any kind.” However, photos of the Top Gun actor wearing a tracheostomy tell a different story. Kilmer was spotted looking healthy but wearing the breathing aid with a red bandana around his neck.

Concern as Val Kilmer pictured with breathing aid https://t.co/M7fpVhKiKo pic.twitter.com/oiveBrehWs

— Mirror Celeb (@MirrorCeleb) December 5, 2015

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a tracheostomy is a “surgically made hole that goes through the front of your neck and into your trachea or windpipe to help you breathe.” If Val Kilmer is wearing a tracheostomy, then he likely has needed help breathing at some point. According to Hollywood Life, the tracheostomy is given to people, like Kilmer, who have been put on a ventilator machine or suffered a severe infection, or who have had part of their larynx removed (such as if someone like Kilmer had cancer).

Kilmer was recently spotted at the University Of California Los Angeles Medical Center in October, which also sparked rumors that Val is battling some sort of throat cancer. At the time, Kilmer denied any health issues, thanking fans for their “love and support.”

Val also shared on Facebook that any rumors that he is “unwell again and in hospital [are] totally untrue.” Over Facebook, Val wrote that he went to the center “to verify I have no tumor or infection of any kind.” Val Kilmer assured the media that it was “verified by the very caring experts at UCLA” that he is indeed healthy and without a tumor of any kind, reports Hollywood Life.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH @ValKilmer? Actor allegedly spotted with breathing tube https://t.co/9VAeYRPvgk pic.twitter.com/B3B2OuyRwy

— Rumor Fix (@RumorFix) December 4, 2015

Last January, however, reports surfaced that Kilmer was rushed to the hospital to undergo tests for a tumor. At that time, Kilmer told fans that he had “a complication” and assured them that “the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the UCLA ICU.”

In February, following his release from the UCLA ICU, Val denied as well that he has “not had a tumor, or a tumor operations, or any operation.” Kilmer is well-known to be a Christian Scientist, an organization that advocates prayer for healing instead of surgery.

On November 25, 2015, Kilmer shared a photo of himself on Facebook with his neck completely covered in a button up shirt. In the photo, the tracheostomy can’t be seen. In the pic, Kilmer looks directly at the camera and smiles.

“I love reading in the sun,” Kilmer captioned the personal snap, reports People. Kilmer is being cared for by his two children, Mercedes, who is 23, and Jack, who is 19-years-old.

Val Kilmer wearing what appears to be a medical breathing aidhttps://t.co/XHSk6x0a1S via @DailyMailCeleb

— jackie stuart (@auldcove) December 4, 2015

Kilmer recently confused fans after he indicated he would reprise his role as Ice Man in Top Gun 2, but did a complete about-face just hours later, saying he was just offered the role and has not accepted yet, reports Rolling Stone.

Over on Facebook, Val Kilmer wrote, “Let’s fire up some fighter jets again!!!” indicatinghe would reprise his role in the iconic film. Val also wrote that he “just got offered Top Gun 2 — not often you get to say ‘yes’ without reading the script.” But just hours later, Kilmer clarified that he “jumped the top gun” with his announcement, explaining that being “offered a role is very different from doing a role.”

Val Kilmer admitted over Facebook that that he made “an innocent mistake. It was just such a wonderful phone call with my agent.” It’s not clear why Kilmer backtracked or whether his tracheostomy effects his ability to accept roles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuYXoXKMm6A

[Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images]