Kit Roberts
Many people noticed during the 2023 Oscars that Morgan Freeman was sporting a black glove on his left hand.
Those on social media were full of questions when Freeman took to the stage alongside Margot Robbie to deliver a tribute to mark 100 years of Warner Bros.
Many were not aware of the reason why Morgan was wearing the glove, and speculated online about whether the garment was functional or just an outfit choice.
And there's actually a very good reason why Freeman, who is turning 86-years-old today, wears a glove.
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The glove is actually a compression glove, which he wears to help with blood circulation and pain in his left hand after a major car accident.
In 2008, Freeman, aged 71 at the time, got into a crash in Mississippi.
At the time, the actor had been driving late at night when his car left the road, flipping several times before ending up in a ditch not far from his then-home.
According to the Guardian, he was 'cut' out of the wreck by emergency workers and airlifted to a hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
He sustained bad injuries in the crash, including broken bones, and went through a four-hour surgery to repair the damage to his hand and arm.
However, he was left with permanent nerve damage to his left hand and unbearable shoulder pain after the accident.
In 2010, the Bruce Almighty star opened up about the accident in an interview with People.
He told the publication: “I suffered nerve damage, and it hasn’t gotten better. I can’t move it.
“If you don’t move your hand, it will swell up. Do you know you move your hand about a million times a day?”
Freeman has also had to adapt to only using his right hand for most of his day-to-day tasks.
"I play one-handed," he told Esquire in 2012, "I swing with my right arm."
The Dark Knight star also suffers with fibromyalgia in his arm, which is a condition affecting the musculoskeletal system and can cause immense pain in the body, as well as an increased sensitivity to pain.
In the 2012 interview with Esquire, Freeman said that the pain was 'up and down' his arm.
"That's where it gets so bad. Excruciating." he added.
There is not currently a cure for the condition, but there are ways to mitigate its worst effects.
Among these is wearing something to compress an impacted area, such as a glove.
He was first seen wearing the glove shortly after his accident, and has worn it at a large number of events since then.