Why Is Sylvester Stallone Using a Cane at Kennedy Center Honors 2025?
What To Know
- Sylvester Stallone was honored at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors.
- The actor used a cane while attending the December 6 event, which will air on December 23.
- He previously opened up about undergoing multiple back surgeries after doing his own stunts on The Expendables.
Sylvester Stallone is one of the honorees at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors. The event took place on December 6, but will be airing on CBS and Paramount+ on Tuesday, December 23.
Photos from the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors show Stallone, 79, walking with a cane. He attended the event with his wife, Jennifer Flavin, and posed for photos solo and with her by his side, but had the cane as a crutch to help him make his way inside.
“Sly is using a cane due to back surgery,” the actor’s rep explained. “He appreciates everyone’s concern and support.”
During a 2024 episode of his family’s reality show, The Family Stallone, the Rocky star revealed that he had undergone seven back surgeries. The procedures stemmed from injuries he developed after doing his own stunts in the 2010 film The Expendables.
“There’s something romantic about doing your own stunts,” Stallone said. “There’s something very unromantic about after doing your own stunts.” Stallone admitted that he “never recovered” from filming the first Expendables. “After that film, it was literally physically never the same,” he shared. “So I warn people, don’t do your own stunts.”
Paul Morigi/Getty Images
During the episode, Flavin noted that her husband “masks” his pain. “He doesn’t like people to know he’s had so many surgeries,” she explained. She also expressed her hopes that the surgery would help Stallone live a more “comfortable” life.
His rep did not expand on the reason for his more recent back surgery, which was his eighth total. During a 2022 interview with the Irish Times, Stallone revealed that he had some screws in his back, as well as “a few” spinal fusions.
At the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, Stallone was honored alongside George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, Kiss, and Michael Crawford. According to the event’s website, “The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes and celebrates individuals whose unique artistic contributions have shaped our world. Recipients have each had an impact on the rich tapestry of American life and culture through the performing arts.”
Kennedy Center Honors 2024, Tuesday, December 23, 8/7c, CBS and Paramount+
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