Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Emily Willis, the former adult performer whose real name is Litzy Lara Banuelos, sent her brother a hopeful text before checking into Summit Malibu on Jan. 27, 2024. “Hey Bubs, I am about to check in. I might not have my phone. So, if you don’t hear from me in the next seven days, that’s why!! Then I get my phone back after detox,” she wrote to Michael Cooper Jr.

Michael replied that he loved her, was proud she was taking care of herself and wanted her to leave with a plan. He later said Willis was “excited” to get better.

Emily Willis steps out for the “Divinity” premiere at Sundance’s Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, in January 2023. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images.

“She said it had a lot of amenities, and a lot of celebrities went there and they make sure you come out well. She was strong going in and had a path forward,” Michael said. “I had zero reason to think anything would go wrong.”

Willis, 27, entered the facility to treat a ketamine addiction. Her family alleged that she had been taking 5 to 6 grams of ketamine a day for about a year. Clinical and common recreational doses are measured in milligrams.

The complaint said she arrived underweight with bladder inflammation, urinary incontinence and night terrors, along with diagnoses of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety and PTSD. Facility notes also recorded a history of anorexia and prescriptions for antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications.

Emily Willis joined Karrueche Tran and Bella Thorne at the Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, for the Sundance premiere of “Divinity” in January 2023. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images.

The Wall Street Journal reported that her Summit medical file recorded a relapse 15 days after she left an earlier stay at Passages Malibu. Willis paid $45,500 in cash for 21 days at Summit.

Drug screens taken when she entered Summit and later in her stay were negative. An early toxicology report after her collapse also found no drugs, and doctors still haven’t established why she stopped breathing.

The complaint describes a rapid decline. Willis allegedly refused medications amid withdrawal symptoms on Jan. 28. By Jan. 30, staff notes described her as “disheveled, frail, disoriented,” struggling to walk and “extremely” medically impaired.

She allegedly developed tremors, weakness and dehydration so severe that a nurse couldn’t read her blood pressure. She was also barely eating or showering. Paramedics were called for breathing trouble on Feb. 3, but Willis refused transport to a hospital.

The clinician assigned to monitor her allegedly left for lunch at 11:40 a.m. on Feb. 4 and didn’t return until 12:30 p.m. The complaint says his initials still appeared on 15-minute observation logs from that period.

At about 12:10 p.m., staff found Willis with fixed pupils, no pulse and no signs of breathing. A nurse performed CPR for about 3 minutes before paramedics arrived and continued resuscitation for another 30 to 40 minutes. The prolonged loss of oxygen left Willis with severe brain damage and paralysis.

Michael says his 5-foot-6 sister weighed 111 pounds when she entered Summit and 83 pounds when she was found unresponsive. The facility’s nutritional screen instead recorded an intake weight of 100 pounds, 16 pounds underweight by its measure, and the family says she was never referred to a nutritionist or physician.

Emily Willis and Ramon Nomar accept an award at the 2020 AVN Awards, held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on January 25, 2020. Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images.

Willis’ mother, Yesenia Cooper, filed a lawsuit in December 2024 accusing Summit and its parent company, Malibu Lighthouse Treatment Centers, of negligence that caused “irreversible brain damage and permanent physical and mental incapacity.” Malibu Lighthouse denied liability and wrongdoing.

The facility argued that Willis refused medication, urgent care and hospital transport, and that staff had no legal authority to force her to accept treatment. Her attorney, James A. Morris Jr., told the court the case “was no slam dunk” because no one knows exactly what caused the crisis or whether Summit could have prevented it.

Michael says he and Willis were close and had discussed her leaving the adult film industry to study psychology in college. The Hollywood Reporter said she had already stepped back from filming and was relying on OnlyFans as she considered that change. She was named AVN Female Performer of the Year in 2021, was a Penthouse Pet in May 2019 and had a small role in the Sundance film Divinity.

Lexington Steele, Emily Willis, and Luna Star take the stage to present an award at the 2023 Adult Video News Awards at Resorts World Las Vegas on Jan. 7, 2023. Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images.

Judge Susan Bryant-Deason approved a $3 million settlement on July 15, 2026, without an admission of liability. After roughly $1 million in fees, liens and other obligations, Willis will receive about $1.25 million. She can’t manage the money herself, and Yesenia remains her conservator.

Yesenia moved her daughter to Mexico, where relatives provide cheaper round-the-clock care at home. She told TMZ in July that Willis was “slowly recovering” after more than 10 surgeries and that the family hoped to pursue treatment in Spain.

At the XBIZ Awards in Los Angeles on January 16, 2020, Emily Willis made an appearance. Photo by Tasia Wells / Getty Images.

Willis remains paralyzed and can’t speak or live independently. Her family says she communicates with her eyes and head movements, understands about 80% of what’s happening and sometimes puckers her lips when Michael blows her a kiss.

She breathes and eats through tubes in her neck. Yesenia says Willis sometimes screams or kicks her out of frustration, while an attorney previously described her as “effectively frozen.”

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