Richard Simmons confirms he isn't being held hostage

(Image credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for EGPAF)

The latest American to have to publicly deny being held hostage against his will is fitness superstar Richard Simmons, who confirmed to Today on Monday that he is not being held captive by his housekeeper.

The rumor was ignited on Saturday when the New York Daily News ran a feature on Simmons' startling and unexpected reclusiveness, which has kept him out of the public eye for the past two years. Simmons' friends suggested to the Daily News that his housekeeper of 30 years was keeping him captive in his own house:

Simmons called up to Teresa Reveles, his live-in housekeeper of nearly three decades. "Mauro [Oliveira] is going upstairs with me," he said."No, no, no!" Reveles shouted from the second floor, according to Oliveira. "Get out! Get out!"Oliveira looked at his friend, who told him in a soft voice, "You've gotta go."Oliveira leaned in toward Simmons. "Is she controlling your life now?"As Oliveira tells it, Simmons looked down, and with one resigned word confirmed his worst suspicions: "Yes." This was the last time he saw his friend. [New York Daily News]

"Are you surprised that people have been so worried about you?" Today's Savannah Guthrie asked in a Sunday phone interview, which the show aired Monday.

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"All the people worrying about me, I want to tell them I love them with my whole heart and soul. And that, not to worry, Richard's fine. You haven't seen the last of me. I'll come back, and I'll come back strong," Simmons said.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.