Jamie Foxx reveals 'mystery illness' in Netflix special
Jamie Foxx, an Oscar-winning actor, has spoken up about the medical emergency he had last year, disclosing that he suffered a brain hemorrhage that led to a stroke.
Jamie Foxx in Netflix special 'What Had Happened Was...' at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Hollywood actor discussed his health difficulties last year in a Netflix program titled "Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was."
Parrish Lewis/Netflix © 2024
"It is a mystery," he said. "We still don't know exactly what happened to me."
"On April 11, I had a nasty headache and begged my boy for aspirin. And I rapidly understood that when you have a medical issue, your lads don't know what the f**k to do," he said.
"Before I could get the aspirin I went out," he said. "I don't remember 20 days."
Foxx hailed his sister, whom he described as "4 foot 11 of nothing but pure love," for driving him across Atlanta to find a hospital.
They arrived at Piedmont Hospital, where a doctor informed them that Foxx was suffering from a brain bleed that had resulted in a stroke and that he would die if surgery was not performed, the actor said.
Following the procedure, doctors told Foxx that he may recover completely, "but it's going to be the worst year of his life," he recalled.
Foxx's family kept him away from the public eye because he was "so dizzy" that his head would bob around, and his daughter was worried that if others saw his condition, they would make him into an online meme, he said.
On May 4, he remembers waking up in a wheelchair, unable to walk, and responding in amazement when his buddy informed him he had suffered a stroke.
"Jamie Foxx doesn't get strokes," the actor remembered adding.
He was subsequently transported to Chicago for therapy, where he claims he was urged to abandon his "arrogant" behavior if he wanted to fully heal.
The actor was hospitalized in April 2023 after experiencing an unexplained health issue while filming a Netflix production in Atlanta.
At the time of his hospitalization, his daughter Corinne Foxx said on social media that her father had experienced a "medical complication," but others close to him remained mostly silent about the actor's condition, in line with his preference for secrecy.
Foxx responded to concerns about what caused his hospitalization with an Instagram video update in July 2023, but did not provide any information.
"I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates but to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that, man," he said in the video. "I want you to see me laughing, having fun, partying, cracking jokes, or performing in a movie or television program. I didn't want you to see me with tubes coming out of me and wondering if I'd make it through."
Foxx provided another health update on his verified social media accounts in August 2023.
"This man is grateful..." "I'm finally starting to feel like myself," he wrote at the time. "The journey has been unexpectedly dark..." "But I can see the light."
This summer, in a TikTok video, the "Ray" actor informed a throng of well-wishers that his problem started with a "bad headache" and was then "gone for 20 days." In the video, he stated that he did not "remember anything."
