In his latest Netflix comedy special, Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was, Jamie Foxx shared the story of his unexpected health crisis that occurred in 2023, which he described as the most challenging year of his life.
During three performances in Atlanta last September, Foxx opened up about being diagnosed with a brain bleed that ultimately resulted in a stroke in April 2023.
Reflecting on the alarming incident, Foxx became emotional multiple times while recalling the events of that critical day. He humorously mentioned how he initially sought help for a severe headache on April 11 but humorously added that his friends were not well-equipped to handle a medical emergency.
He recalled that he blacked out before he could even take the Aspirin.
“I don’t remember 20 days,” he admitted.
The first doctor he saw reportedly gave him a shot of cortisone before sending him away. “What the fuck is that?” Foxx joked. “I don’t know if you can do Yelps for doctors, but that’s half a star.”
But Foxx ultimately credited his sister, Diedra Dixon, with saving his life. She rushed him to Piedmont Hospital after noting he was becoming “lethargic,” where he was diagnosed and rushed into surgery.
“My sister knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time,” Foxx said.
The comedian joked that he “saw the tunnel,” but he “didn’t see the light.”
“It was hot in that tunnel,” he said. “Shit, am I going to the wrong place in this motherfucker? Because I looked at the end of the tunnel, and I thought I saw the Devil like, ‘C’mon.’ Or is that Puffy [Sean “Diddy” Combs]?”
Foxx explained that his doctor told his family, “‘He may be able to make a full recovery but it’s gonna be the worst year of his life.”
The Oscar winning actor did not spare any details as he recounted what the next several months were like for him, including being bathed by nurses and undergoing rehabilitation in Chicago where he learned how to walk again.
“It was touch and go,” Foxx said of those first several days. “The first 15 days they thought they were gonna lose me because my vitals were out of control.” But he experienced a “miracle” when his 14-year-old daughter Anelise Bishop snuck into his hospital room with her guitar, causing his vitals go down. Bishop then joined him on stage for an emotional duet that brought them both to tears.
But Foxx held onto his sense of humor through the ordeal. He even dispelled the “clone” rumors once and for all, telling the Atlanta audience, “You motherfuckers really thought I was a clone? … You can’t clone this. I brought you too much original shit.”
Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was is streaming now on Netflix.
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