Morgan Freeman was one of many iconic actors that appeared at the 95th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12. The Invictus actor, 85, joined Margot Robbie, 32, on stage during the award show to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Warner Brothers, but as he walked out, fans noticed that he wore a black glove on his left hand. While some may have been confused, it’s actually a regular occurrence for Morgan for an important reason.
Morgan has worn gloves in public many times since he was involved in a car accident in Charleston, Mississippi in August 2008, per The Guardian. His car flipped many times, and he and a female companion were both airlifted to a local hospital. At the time, a spokesperson for the medical center said that Morgan was in “serious” condition. Clay McFerrin, the then-editor of the local paper The Charleston Sun Sentinel, also described the scene. “They had to use the jaws of life [hydraulic cutters] to extract him from the vehicle,” he told The Guardian. “He was lucid, conscious. He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point.”
Unfortunately, the accident caused severe nerve damage for the Oscar-winner, and he’s been forced to wear a compression glove ever since to keep the blood moving. His hand has been paralyzed ever since. “I suffered nerve damage and it hasn’t gotten better. I can’t move it,” he told People in 2010.
Since the accident, Morgan has often worn a compression glove while out and about in public to prevent blood from pooling, according to a 2012 profile in Esquire. He said that it caused fibromyalgia. The accident has also prevented The Dark Knight actor from participating in some of his beloved hobbies that he once took part in, including flying jets and sailing. Still, he said that he tries not to let it drag him down. “Up and down the arm. That’s where it gets so bad. Excruciating,” he explained. “There is a point to changes like these. I have to move on to other things, to other conceptions of myself. I play golf. I still work. And I can be pretty happy just walking the land.”