Jamie Foxx on March 3.Photo:Kayla Oaddams/Getty
Kayla Oaddams/Getty
Jamie Foxxis setting the record straight abouthis mysterious medical ordeal.
In his Netflix specialJamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…, streaming Tuesday, Dec. 10, the Oscar winner, 56, reveals he was “literally seconds and moments away from death” when he collapsed in April 2023, says audience member Demecos Chambers, who attended an October taping of the special in Atlanta.
“It was just pure exhaustion. His body was just exhausted due to him getting up there in age, and his body just faltering out on him,” Chambers recalls Foxx sharing onstage.
The actor was in Georgia at the time working on the upcoming Netflix movieBack in ActionwithCameron Diaz, but he did not collapse on the set of the film.
Jamie Foxx in his new Netflix special.Parrish Lewis/Netflix
Parrish Lewis/Netflix
“When he passed out, he thought he was just out for a few moments,” Chambers tells PEOPLE. “He basically passed out in an elevator and he thought he woke up a couple hours later. Well, he was actually in a coma and didn’t wake up until a few weeks later.”
Chambers says while Foxx, a father to daughters Corinne and Anelise, was in a coma, one of the girls would strum the guitar for her dad.
“She’s playing one of their favorite songs or whatever on a daily basis. And he said that’s the only thing that he could recall hearing in his sleep, and it brought him essentially out of his coma,” says Chambers.
After he woke up, he “went to a rehab facility and he talked about how his motor skills he had to start from day one,” says Chambers.
Though Foxx details his harrowing experience, the special isn’t all serious, says Chambers. “While he’s telling the story, he’s throwing bits in there left and right,” he says. “It’s stand-up comedy. He’s dancing a little bit. He’s playing songs on the piano.”
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On April 12, 2023, Foxx’s daughter Corinne revealed in a message on Instagram that her father had suffered a “medical complication” the day before.
“Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery,” she continued at the time. “We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers.”
After Foxx’s medical emergency, a source told PEOPLE thatBack in Action’s set was “shut down” for one day before filming resumed April 13 with a stand-in for Foxx.
In October, Foxx wrote on Instagram about hisemotional experience discussing his health scareonstage: “My heart and my soul is filled with nothing but pure joy” after he “had an opportunity to tell my side of the story” at the gig.
Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…is on Netflix Dec. 10
source: people.com
