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Jamie Foxx broke his silence during his new Netflix comedy special about what led to his mysterious health scare — and how he is doing now.
Foxx, 56, opened up about his past hospitalization during Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was, which premiered on Tuesday, December 10. Foxx revealed that he had a brain bleed that led to a stroke after experiencing a bad headache in April 2023.
The special was originally taped in October — nearly two years after Foxx experienced a medical complication while filming Back in Action in Atlanta. His eldest daughter, Corinne Foxx, revealed at the time that “due to quick action and great care” her father was “already on his way to recovery.” (Jamie shares Corrine with ex Connie Kline. He also shares daughter Anelise, 15, with ex Kristin Grannis.)
Jamie has remained largely tight-lipped about the specifics of his health scare since. In July 2023, the actor made a rare statement to clarify some of the rumors surrounding his condition.
“You know, by being quiet, sometimes things get out of hand, people saying what I got [and] some people said I was blind, but as you can see the eyes are working. The eyes are working just fine!” he said in an Instagram video. “They said I was paralyzed, I’m not paralyzed, but I went to hell and back, and my road to recovery had some potholes as well. I’m coming back and I’m able to work.”
Jamie said he “went through something” that he thought he “would never ever” go through.
“I want you to see me laughing, having a good time partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, television show. I didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was gonna make it through,” he continued. “I cannot tell you how great it feels to have your family kick in in such a way and y’all know they kept it airtight, they didn’t let nothing out, they protected me, and that’s what I hope that everyone could have in moments like these.”
Earlier this year, Jamie returned to the set of his and Cameron Diaz’s upcoming Netflix film. He also was able to walk Corrine down the aisle in September during her wedding to Joe Hooten. Jamie returned to the stage one month later for his first stand-up show since being released from the hospital.
Jamie told the audience at the time that his “heart and my soul is filled with nothing but pure joy” after filming the Netflix special, which he teased will give him “an opportunity to tell my side of the story.”
Keep scrolling for the biggest takeaways from the special:
What Really Happened
“We still don’t know what happened to me,” Foxx said during the special, describing how he experienced a bad headache on April 11, 2023. He asked a friend for some aspirin but, “Before I could get the aspirin, I went out.”
“I don’t remember 20 days. What they told me was that they took me to the first doctor and that first doctor gave me a cortisone shot and sent me home,” he continued. “What the f–k is that? I don’t know if you can do Yelps for doctors, but that’s half a star, n—a,” he joked.
His Sister Sought a Second Opinion
Foxx shared how his younger sister, Deidra Dixon, whom he described as “4-foot-11 of nothing but love,” didn’t accept the first doctor’s treatment. “She says, ‘Get him in the car. That ain’t my brother right there,’” Foxx recalled, explaining that his sister eventually drove him to Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital.
At the hospital, a doctor told the Oscar winner’s sister, “He’s having a brain bleed that’s led to a stroke.” Foxx said, “He said, ‘If I don’t go into his head right now, we’re gonna lose him.’”
“They take me in to operate on me, and my sister went down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time,” he continued, joking that he didn’t “see the light” but he “saw the tunnel.” He added, “It was hot in the tunnel. [I thought] ‘S–t, am I going to the wrong place in this motherf—er?’”
Foxx Reveals He Had a Stroke
After operating on the brain bleed, the doctor told Foxx’s sister that he had experienced a stroke. “‘He may be able to make a full recovery but it’s gonna be the worst year of his life,’” the doctor told Foxx’s sister.
“That’s what it was, Atlanta. You finally got the story,” Foxx said while overcome with emotion.
How His Daughter Helped His Recovery
“My vitals were so bad they thought they were gonna lose me,” Foxx said of the first 15 days after his medical emergency. “That’s when a miracle happened, and that miracle was working through my youngest daughter,” he added, referring to Anelise, 15.
“I didn’t want her to see me like that. She snuck into my hospital room with her guitar, and she says, ‘I know what my daddy needs,’” Foxx recalled, saying that while his daughter played guitar, his vitals stabilized. He then introduced Anelise to the stage to play her guitar.
Why He Disappeared From the Public Eye
Foxx praised his sister and his daughter, Corrine, 30, for springing into action following his stroke. “They held me the f–k down. ‘Nobody sees him!’ They cut it all off,” he said. “They didn’t want you to see me like that and I didn’t want you to see me like that. There’s another reason, too, why my daughter didn’t want nobody to see me. I was dizzy from the stroke. I was so dizzy, so my head would [shake]. She said, ‘They gon’ meme the f–k out of this motherf—er.’”
His Recovery
Foxx detailed how he woke up from his coma after 20 days and found himself in a wheelchair. He initially struggled with accepting the fact he had had a stroke. “I said, ‘That’s old man s–t. I don’t get strokes. Stop this f—ing prank,’” he recalled.
“They flew me to Chicago for my rehab,” he continued. “Every therapist that came in, I said, ‘Get the f–k out.’ I gave up.”
Eventually, a physical therapist named Holly gave him some tough love and got him to begin rehabbing.
Atlanta Saved His Life…
As he took the stage at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, Foxx said, “Just 400 yards from here, at Piedmont Hospital, they put me back together again. God be the glory.”
But the Internet Tried to Kill Him
“They said I was paralyzed. Said I couldn’t walk. But look at me now,” he quipped, dancing to Unk’s “Walk It Out.”
Without missing a beat, Foxx segued into a joke about the recent allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs — particularly his alleged “freak off” parties.
“The internet said Puffy tried to kill me. That’s what the internet was saying. I know what you’re thinking: ‘Did he?’” Foxx quipped. “Hell, naw, n—a. I left them parties early. I was out by 9, n—a. ‘Something don’t look right, n—a. It’s slippery in here, n—a.’”
Later, detailing how he couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel while he was in a coma, he joked that he saw Diddy at the end. “I thought I saw the devil. Or was that Puffy?” he quipped. “I’m f—ing around. But if it was Puffy, he had a flaming bottle of Johnson & [baby oil].”
