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Jamie Foxx is opening up about his “near-death experience” and hospitalization in his Netflix special What Had Happened Was.
The Academy Award winner is taking it back to his standup comedy roots for his first special in over two decades and he’s ready to talk about his mysterious health scare that led fans to worry that he was terminally ill. Foxx told the Los Angeles audience that he was “literally seconds and moments away from death” when he was rushed to an Atlanta hospital in April 2023.
“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,” said audience member, Demecos Chambers, who attended the taping. “When he passed out, he thought he was just out for a few moments.”
He continued,
“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.”
Foxx also revealed that one of his only memories from being in a coma is that his daughter played guitar for him.
“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,” Chambers said.
Fans of the multitalented entertainer have been impatiently waiting for more details about his scary brush with death as rumors quickly swirled in the aftermath of the news. Foxx was noticeably absent from the press run of 2023’s They Cloned Tyrone. He made few appearances and did no interviews surrounding his health since his recovery.
Still, he seems to be ready to get back to work. He will return to the big screen alongside his ex-boo Cameron Diaz for Netflix’s Back In Action, premiering Jan. 2025.