Jamie Foxx returns to the comedic stage with his new Netflix special, Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was, where he candidly addresses the unknown medical condition in April 2023 that he said nearly took his life.
The Academy Award winner, 56, has kept his health issues largely private. However, in the special, he tearfully revealed, according to People, that he suffered a brain bleed that led to a stroke, leaving him in a coma for several weeks. He reportedly collapsed while filming the Netflix movie Back in Action in Atlanta with co-stars Cameron Diaz and Glenn Close.
Jamie Foxx opens up about the mysterious medical scare
Before sharing his story, Foxx became emotional, praying to God for strength as he candidly recounted his experience to a packed Atlanta audience.
“April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for a aspirin. I realized quickly that when you’re in a medical emergency, your boys don’t know what the f— to do,” Foxx said, according to People. “Before I could get the aspirin [clicks his fingers] I went out. I don’t remember 20 days.”
The surgery that saved his life
Foxx said his sister, Deidra Dixon, knew something was wrong with him and took him to Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital. There, one of the doctors informed her that he was having a brain bleed and needed to have surgery immediately or he would die after revealing the medical diagnosis to her.
“If I don’t go in his head right now, we’re going to lose him,” Foxx recalled his sister being told, per People. “[She] knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time.”
While Foxx’s condition was serious, the doctor told Dixon her brother may recover fully. Still, it would be the “worst year of his life,” the actor said, sharing more information about his healing journey, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jamie Foxx credits daughters for support, dishes on rumors and impersonations in special
Foxx also credited his daughters, Corrine Foxx, 30, and Analise Bishop, 16, for their unwavering support, noting that his youngest played guitar to one of their favorite songs while in his coma.
Elsewhere in the special, Foxx humorously impersonated Denzel Washington, Dave Chappelle, Mike Tyson, JAY-Z and even President-elect Donald Trump. He also talked about the internet rumors about Sean “Diddy” Combs having him hospitalized and the well-known events he would throw in Hollywood and other locations.
“The internet said that Puffy tried to kill me, that’s what the internet was saying,” he said, per THR. “I know what you thinkin’…. did-he? He also emphasized that he left the disgraced music mogul’s popular “freak-off parties” early: “I left them parties early… I was out by nine.”
Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was is available to stream on Netflix.
