Photo: AFP
Hollywood actor and comedian Jamie Foxx (pic) has finally opened up about the mystery illness that plagued him in 2023.
The 56-year-old revealed that he lost 20 days of memory following a stroke, in his Netflix stand-up comedy special Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was..., which premiered on the platform on Dec 10.
It was taped in front of a live audience in the American city of Atlanta, where Foxx had been hospitalised during his bout of sickness.
The special began with news clips of his hospitalisation, before the Oscar-winning star of films such as Ray (2004) and Django Unchained (2012) came out dancing and saying he was “happy to be alive”.
He added: “We still don’t know exactly what happened to me. All I can tell you is that I appreciate every prayer because I needed it.”
He got emotional and teary recounting what had happened. He said that on April 11, 2023, he had felt so unwell that he asked for an aspirin – a common drug for pain relief – but before he could take it, he “went out”.
He added: “I don’t remember 20 days.”
The first doctor who consulted on his case sent him home after administering a cortisone shot, which is used to reduce pain and swelling. But Foxx’s younger sister Deidra insisted on taking him to see another doctor after she visited, and drove him to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, where Foxx said “a cool white boy” named Dr Schuette diagnosed him with a brain bleed that had led to a stroke.
Dr Schuette insisted on operating on his brain immediately, as Foxx would die without surgery. Foxx said Deidra knelt outside the operating room and prayed the entire time.
He recounted what sounded like a near-death experience. “Your life doesn’t flash before your face. It was kinda oddly peaceful... I saw the tunnel. I didn’t see the light,” he said.
When the surgery was done, the doctor told Deidra that the team could not find the exact source of the brain bleed, but that Foxx had suffered a stroke. Dr Schuette said: “He may be able to make a full recovery. But it’s gonna be the worst year of his life.”
Foxx then thanked Deidra and his actress-daughter Corinne, 30, for ensuring that no one saw him in his worst state.
He said that when he regained consciousness, he was in a wheelchair and could not walk. Confused and with no memory of what had happened, he did not believe it when his manager told him he had suffered a stroke. He even attempted to stand up and get out of the wheelchair, and was devastated when he realised he truly could not walk and that the stroke was real.
The Netflix special comes more than a year after the public first heard of Foxx’s health struggles. Corinne shared that he had suffered a “medical complication” in April 2023 and said he was on his way to recovery.
Rumours swirled about his condition, with some speculating that he had been paralysed, while others said he had gone blind. He broke his silence in May with an Instagram post that said: “Appreciate all the love. Feeling blessed.”
In July, he appeared in an Instagram video to debunk the false information circulating about his health, but admitted he had been through a serious crisis.
He had said: “I went to hell and back. My road to recovery had some potholes as well, but I’m coming back, and I’m able to work.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
