Jamie Foxx has opened up in a new Netflix special about the illness that left him hospitalized last year and unable to remember a 20-day period from April to May 2023.
Foxx, 56, revealed in his Netflix special — “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…” released on Dec. 10 — that he suffered “a brain bleed that led to a stroke.”
The news of Foxx’s “mystery illness,” as he referred to it in the special, first broke in April 2023, when his daughter Corinne Fox shared a statement announcing her father had been hospitalized after experiencing a “medical complication.” It was later revealed his condition was serious enough that family had traveled to be by his bedside.
Since then, the Oscar winner has sporadically shared some details, including that he had suffered from a bad headache prior to the incident and didn’t remember 20 days of his life.
In the special, he went into detail about what he did remember from that time period, found humor in his recovery and explained how he wouldn’t have gotten through it without his family, including his daughters, Corinne Foxx and Anelise Bishop, and his sister Deidra Dixon.
Foxx also reflected on being in rehab in Chicago, since when he woke up in early May, he was in a wheelchair and unable to walk.
And Foxx consistently stressed throughout the special how close he was to death due to his condition and thanked fans for their support and prayers.
In addition to his comedy, Foxx sprinkled imitations and musical performances throughout, even bringing teenage Anelise on the stage at one point.
Here’s what Jamie Foxx shared about his health during his new Netflix special.
What was Jamie Foxx’s illness?
In his new Netflix special, Jamie Foxx revealed that he experienced “a brain bleed that led to a stroke.”
He said that on April 11, 2023, he began experiencing a bad headache and asked a friend for an aspirin. At the time, he was working on the film “Back in Action” alongside Glenn Close and Cameron Diaz, which will be released on Netflix in January 2025.
The initial headache began a harrowing time for Foxx. “I don’t remember 20 days,” he said in the special.
Once in the hospital, doctors performed surgery on Foxx almost immediately. While they couldn’t find the original source of the brain bleed, they believed it would be possible for him to make a full recovery, though they told his sister it would be difficult.
The cause of the medical emergency is still unknown, according to Foxx.
“It is a mystery,” he said early in the special. “We still don’t know exactly what happened to me. All I can tell you is that I appreciate every prayer, because I needed every prayer.”
Foxx said he woke up on May 4 in a wheelchair and then was flown to Chicago to do his rehabilitation.
Foxx’s first update following his ordeal came in July 2023, when he spoke about his hospitalization in an emotional Instagram video.
SOURCE: nbcnews.com