Jamie Foxx: Latest health updates after actor’s representative debunks conspiracy theory
Actor’s representative has shut down ‘completely inaccurate’ conspiracy theory
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Jamie Foxx was admitted to hospital in April after suffering a “medical complication”.
On Friday (12 May) his daughter Corinne Foxx revealed that the actor had been out of the hospital “for weeks” after certain media outlets reported that his family were “preparing for the worst”.
“Sad to see how the media runs wild,” she wrote on Instagram. “My dad has been out of the hospital for weeks recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday!”
Specific details about the 55-year-old Django Unchained star’s illness remain undisclosed. However, his representatives have debunked a number of conspiracy theories swirling around
What happened to Foxx?
“We wanted to share that my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday,” Corinne, 29, said in a statement posted on social media on 12 April.
“Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery. We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers,” she added. “The family asks for privacy during this time.”
Conflicting accounts of Foxx’s status emerged in the weeks since he was admitted to hospital. While most reports suggested that the actor was recovering, one source told Radar on Tuesday (9 May) that his friends and family were “hoping for the best – but preparing for the worst”.
Corinne rebuked Radar’s report specifically in her 12 May post.
On 20 April, Bad Boys star Martin Lawrence told Extra that Foxx was “doing better”.
“My prayers go out for him every night and just wishing the best for him, one of the best that we got in Hollywood. Not only one of the best entertainers, but a good person,” he added.
Foxx broke his silence on social media on 3 May, thanking fans for their support.
“Appreciate all the love!!! Feeling blessed [prayer, heart and fox emoji],” the actor shared on his Instagram Story.
Foxx also thanked Nick Cannon for stepping in to replace him as host of the Fox game show, Beat Shazam.
“Everybody at FOX Entertainment wishes Jamie well as he continues his recovery, and we greatly appreciate Nick’s willingness to jump in and help this summer,” Beat Shazam announced on Instagram.
“Man, I’m praying. I literally have been saying prayers out loud,” Cannon said of Foxx.
On 4 May, comedian Kevin Hart also suggested that Foxx was on the road to recovery.
“The dope thing is that he’s getting better in his situation, and everybody’s prayers, everybody’s love, energy, all that stuff is seen and felt [by him],” Hart told hosts Logan Paul and Mike Majlak on their Impaulsive podcast.
“In this case, you just want the guy to get out of the situation and get back home.”
Hart continued: “I don’t know the details – or the exact details – as to what’s going on, but to my knowledge, there’s a lot of progression and a world of better.”
Many more stars wished the actor a speedy recovery on Instagram.
What was Foxx filming when he was taken ill?
Foxx was in Georgia, USA, shooting the forthcoming Netflix film Back in Action when he was taken to a medical facility. He remains there and is being kept “under observation”, US media outlets have reported.
The actor reunited with his Any Given Sunday (1999) and Annie (2014) co-star Cameron Diaz for the movie, who has since returned to filming while body doubles sub in for Foxx.
The Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) movie marks Diaz's first film since stepping away from acting in 2014.
It’s been earmarked as an action-comedy, although any details about the plot have been kept tightly under wraps.
Kyle Chandler, Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Jamie Demetriou, McKenna Roberts and Rylan Jackson also star.
Reflecting on his career, Foxx recently said he doesn’t consider himself “famous”. “I’ve always been the guy, my whole career, that people feel a familiarity to, not really a ‘celebrity’,” he told The Rake.
“It’s important to keep good people around that always keep it real with you. My friends that I met when I first came to Los Angeles 30 years ago are still my same friends. We all still kick it and laugh.”
What have his representatives said?
On 8 June, a representative for Foxx shut down conspiracy theories that the actor’s recent hospitalisation was due to the Covid-19 vaccine leaving him “partially paralyzed and blind”.
In a statement to NBC News, Foxx’s representatives called the claims “completely inaccurate.”
The conspiracy theory began on 30 May, when Hollywood gossip columnist AJ Benza made an unsubstantiated claim on Ask Dr Drew, hosted by reality TV host Dr Drew Pinsky. During the podcast episode, Benza alleged that Foxx was forced to get the Covid-19 vaccine while he was working on a film, citing a source “in the room” with Foxx when he was hospitalised.
Benza claimed Foxx developed a “blood clot in the brain” after receiving the vaccine, which “caused him at that point to be partially paralyzed and blind.”
Despite Foxx’s representatives refuting Benza’s claims, it hasn’t stopped far-right commentators from spreading the anti-vaccination conspiracy theory on the internet.