Before he confirmed to the world that everything was fine, Richard Simmons got a house call from the LAPD.
Law enforcement performed a welfare check on the fitness guru after receiving a phone call from someone claiming Simmons was the victim of “elder abuse.”
According to Radar Online, the visit took place on January 24th, 2015, and the police interviewed both Simmons and his housekeeper for over an hour.
Simmons “was questioned away from his housekeeper and anyone else in the house,” a source told the publication.
“This is commonly done during welfare checks to make sure the person knows they can say anything, and are safe.
“Richard was happy to know that his fans were concerned. He had a range of emotions during the interview and did shed a few tears.”
Friends were concerned when Simmons started missing important events. However, the 67-year-old was “adamant that there was nothing amiss,” the source added
“No one was holding him hostage. He just wanted to take a break from the spotlight. He revealed there was pain with an ongoing knee injury and that he did feel overwhelmed at times. He said he had been going to doctor appointments.”
“The housekeeper was also questioned separately and even offered to go down to headquarters for further interviews,” the source added.
“Richard was upset that she was being scrutinized, but she understood it and was very cooperative.”
After conducting the interviews, cops made no discoveries in regards to abuse.
“Cops concluded Richard was in no danger, and explained they had to come out and investigate it,” the source said. “He was very sweet about the whole thing. It just seems like for the first time in his adult life, he was putting himself first.”
The concern prompted Simmons to put any rumors about his personal life to rest.
“No one should be worried about me,” Simmons told Entertainment Tonight over the phone.
“The people that surround me are wonderful people who take great care of me.”