Jamie Foxx addresses his recent health scare in a forthcoming Netflix comedy special, but according to the comedian, doing so “was an excruciating time.”
Set to premiere later this year, What Had Happened Was has been described as a “humorous but emotional one-man show” and will mark Foxx’s return to comedy following his nearly-fatal hospitalization in 2023.
Following the final of his three-night taping in Atlanta, Gayle King captured backstage footage where Foxx admitted it was not easy to re-visit the experience.
“It was an excruciating time to be able to open those wounds every single day for three nights,” he said. “It was excruciating because the worry is what gets you. We’ve got a great show in the room, but we don’t know what they may laugh or what they may not laugh at. Any comedian will tell you that’s the thing, the worry is the thing.
“Usually, when you do a stand-up special, you go out for a year and a half and work every little nook and cranny, and then you tape it. You don’t just show up in Atlanta and turn the camera on. It’s a personal journey, and I hope I never have to – I am never going to go through this again. My next jokes will start out, ‘Knock, knock!’ I’ll do an hour and a half of ‘Knock, knock’ jokes.”
Jamie Foxx was hospitalized in April 2023 due to what his daughter Corrine referred to as a “medical complication” in a statement.
She added that her father was “already on his way to recovery” thanks to “quick action and great care.”
Foxx was filming the movie Back in Action in Atlanta at the time with co-stars Cameron Diaz, Glenn Close and Kyle Chandler.
After months of speculation about the nature of his health scare, the 56-year-old revealed this past July that he took some Advil for a headache and woke up 20 days later with no recollection of what happened.
In a video of him chatting with fans, he said: “April 11th last year, bad headache, asked my boy for an Advil [clicks fingers], I was gone for 20 days. I don’t remember anything.”
“My sister and my daughter took me to the first doctor. The next doctor said, ‘There’s something going on up there,’” he continued, pointing to his head. “I won’t say it on camera […] but it was…”
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Foxx previously spoke about his hospitalization in an emotional speech at the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Cinema & Television: Honoring Black, Latino and AAPI Achievements in December, where he revealed that he was initially unable to walk.
He also said he “saw the tunnel” while in hospital: “I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy ’cause it’s tough when you almost… when it’s almost over, when you see the tunnel.”
Lightening the mood, Foxx then joked: “I didn’t see the light! It was hot in that tunnel so I didn’t know where I was going. ‘Shit, am I going to the right place?’ I seen the Devil going, ‘C’mon, now.’”
