Shemar Moore Says Don Cornelius May Have Suffered from Dementia or Alzheimer’s

One day after the tragic news hit that Don Cornelius died, close friends, family and fans are mourning publicly. And while the details are still hazy, outlets have confirmed that he was found by his son with no suicide note and he did leave two insurance policies (which will go to his ex-wife). And in somewhat surprising news, actor Shemar Moore, who at one point hosted Soul Train, implied in an interview that he had heard rumors that Cornelius may have suffered from the effects of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Shemar explained:

“I don’t know what his health was like. I had heard rumors that it was early [onset] dementia, Alzheimer’s, things like that….I’d heard that he was sick….If he did line all his ducks up, so to speak, if he did deal with all his personal things to have this departure, then I tip my cap to him because that’s a show of love — I’m going to love the people around me, I’m going to give you all I’ve got — and maybe he felt like he was tapped out, you know? And he, for himself, felt he needed to take care of himself in his way….I hope that wherever he is now, he’s at peace… don’t know how he got to this place. I don’t know what made him take his own life this morning. But after we shed our tears, after we say our prayers, after we put him to rest in our own ways, I hope there’s a lot of celebration.”

Peep the full interview here.