In recent years, American actor and rapper Tyler James Williams has received acclaim from audiences for portraying Gregory Eddie in Quinta Brunson’s series Abbott Elementary. Meanwhile, Tyler’s character is believed to have some autism traits.
Per Well+Good magazine, the series’ fans on TikTok first identified an autistic coding in Tyler’s character, inspecting minute details like ‘having a blank expression, having an aversion to certain foods, and standing up against illogical and unjust social conventions.’
Experts believe that certain traits that Tyler displays in his character resemble the people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and also stated that this kind of representation will help autistic people to live a normal life.
The director told Tyler James Williams to make Gregory Eddie “more awesome” but he heard “more autism” and ran with it pic.twitter.com/HQWnqZdk1z
— ZAYNA🇵🇸 FREE PALESTINE (@sitcomabed) September 27, 2022
Well, audiences seem to be completely agree with what experts said regarding Tyler’s Character. On September 27, 2022, one Twitter user wrote sarcastically, “The director told Tyler James Williams to make Gregory Eddie “more awesome,” but he heard “more autism” and ran with it.
Not autism, but Tyler James Williams was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease
Recently, during his interview with NPR, Tyler James Williams talked about several aspects of his life, from his experiences of starting off as a child actor to his character in Abbott Elementary and his battle with Crohn’s disease.
He revealed that Crohn’s disease almost led him to lose his life. Tyler said since the age of 19, he had always been sick, and finally, at 23, he realized how bad his health condition was after his family admitted him to the hospital.
As Tyler stated, doctors came up to him in a hospital bed and said to him, “You need emergency surgery. ….Like, we need to do this right now or your insides may explode, and you may die.”
The disease that he battled was a result of the consistent stress that Tyler had his entire childhood due to his acting career. Doing a regular show at the age of 12 made him prioritize his job and be careless about his eating habits.
Tyler didn’t eat meals as much as his body needed at the time, which eventually scarred his intestines, causing him such an illness.
But now, at 31, he is completely healthy. Over the years, he has changed a lot in his lifestyle and diet habits such as not consuming alcohol or coffee.
Additional Information
- Tyler James Williams said that doctors removed six inches of his lower intestine after his diagnosis of Crohn’s disease.
- After surgery, Tyler depended on an IV for nutrition, and he used an ostomy bag to release his body waste.
- Like him, his brother Tyrel Jackson Williams also has Crohn’s disease. Besides Tyrel, Tyler has one more brother named Tylen Jacob Williams. All of them work in the entertainment industry.
