Jamie Foxx has revealed he had a brain bleed which caused a stroke in 2023.
Foxx previously said he had been “to hell and back” while being treated for a medical complication in April 2023, but he revealed more details in his new Netflix comedy special released on Tuesday.
The actor, singer and comedian told the audience of his Atlanta show he fell ill while filming the Netflix spy action film Back In Action with Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz and went to a doctor with a “bad headache”.
He said the doctor gave him a “cortisone shot” – a steroid injection – after which he became lethargic.
The 56-year-old said his sister Deidra Dixon “knew something was wrong” and took him to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.
“She didn’t know anything about Piedmont Hospital, but she had a hunch that some angels were in there,” he added.
“Atlanta saved my life.”
He said the doctor told his sister that he was “having a brain bleed that led to a stroke” and warned her: “If I don’t go in his head right now, we’re going to lose him.”
Foxx said he was sent for surgery, and “my sister knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time”.
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Foxx said the medical staff “didn’t find” the origin of the brain bleed, but he was diagnosed with a stroke.
He said how the illness occurred was still largely a “mystery” and “we still don’t know exactly what happened to me”.
The Oscar-winning star said he doesn’t remember the first 20 days after the surgery, “but on 4 May I woke up”.
“When I woke up, I found myself in a wheelchair, I couldn’t walk,” he said, adding the doctor told his family he would probably face the “worst year of his life” recovering.
He said his family protected him from public scrutiny during his recovery, which at times saw him have difficulties walking.
Foxx said seeing a psychiatrist helped him cope mentally, which also allowed him to rediscover his relationship with God.
“If I can stay funny, I can stay alive,” he added.
