Earlier this year, Jamie Foxx was in poor health after experiencing an undisclosed medical complication, and for many months, he and his family kept the details private. Now, the actor has revealed more about how serious the health emergency was, including describing a near-death experience he had during the ordeal. On Monday, Dec. 4, Foxx was honored with the Vanguard Award at the Critics Choice Association’s Celebration of Cinema and Television: Honoring Black, Latino and AAPI Achievements for his work in the film The Burial. While accepting the award, Foxx addressed his health setback and said that he wouldn't have been able to get up to the stage to give a speech just six months earlier.
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"I couldn’t do that six months ago, I couldn’t actually walk to [the stage]. And I’m not a clone, I’m not a clone. I know a lot of people saying that I was cloned out there," Foxx joked to the audience, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (He also starred in the sci-fi movie They Cloned Tyrone in 2023.)
Becoming more serious, the 55-year-old went on to explain that he had a near-death experience but did not "see the light" as people commonly believe. "It feels good to be here. I cherish every single minute now, it’s different," Foxx continued. "I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy because it’s tough when it’s almost over, when you see the tunnel. I saw the tunnel, I didn’t see the light. It was hot in that tunnel too, I don’t know where I was going. '[Expletive], am I going to the right place?'"
Foxx then reflected on the importance of making art in his own life, as well as the importance of being able to take it in. "I have a new respect for life, I have a new respect for my art," he said. "I watched so many movies and listened to so many songs trying to have the time go by. Don’t give up on your art, man, don’t give up on your art. When you realize that it could be over like that… I got to tell you don’t give up on your art and don’t let them take the art from you either."
The news regarding Foxx's health was first announced by his daughter, Corinne Foxx, in April. She wrote on Instagram that he was receiving treatment after he "experienced a medical complication." In the weeks that followed, various reports were shared in the press—some of them conflicting—and friends and colleagues of Foxx's also shared updates. Foxx revealed more himself eventually but never went into the specifics of his complication.
In a video he posted on Instagram on July 22, Foxx said, "I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through. I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates, but to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that, man. I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, television show. I didn't want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through." In the video, he also shot down rumors that he had become paralyzed or blind.
Foxx gave another update in August. Alongside a series of photos of himself, he wrote, "You’re lookin at a man who is thankful… finally startin to feel like myself… it’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light." He also thanked everyone for their "well wishes and prayers."
Even though Foxx was unwell earlier this year, he still starred in four movies in 2023, which were already completed: They Cloned Tyrone, God Is a Bullet, Strays, and The Burial. Prior to his emergency, he was filming the action-comedy Back in Action opposite Cameron Diaz.
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