Jamie Foxx, 57, Confesses He Thought He Was Victim of Elaborate Prank When He Woke From 20-Day Coma Following Near-Death Brain Bleed and Stroke
Foxx has been opening up more about the health nightmare.
Jan. 17 2025, Published 4:07 p.m. ET
Jamie Foxx has confessed he thought he was a victim of an elaborate prank when he woke up from his 20-day coma.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the 57-year-old actor suffered a brain bleed that led to a stroke in April 2023 while filming a movie in Atlanta.
Jamie Foxx admitted he was 'unwell.'
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show, the actor said: "I was very unwell but now I am back feeling good. It makes you realize that you need people that care and love you around to get you through it.
"I didn’t remember anything happening, so when I came to 20 days later I thought I was being pranked. It was beyond crazy."
Foxx revealed during his very dark time, he used humor to help him push through – but he said people around him started to become concerned over the number of jokes he was telling.
The actor explained: "I knew I had to get back and realized the way to do it was by being funny.
"I told so many jokes people thought I was mad, and then I would act as someone else – for three whole days I was Denzel Washington!"
Foxx was hospitalized while filming in Atlanta.
Foxx previously opened up about the horrifying ordeal on his Netflix special, Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…
Before sharing details about the incident, Foxx wiped his eyes and said: "Please, Lord, let me get through this.”
The actor went on to explain: "On April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for aspirin. I realized quickly that when you're in a medical emergency, your boys don't know what the f--- to do."
Foxx was taken to a doctor in Georgia, where he was filming a Netflix comedy with Cameron Diaz, and received a cortisone shot.
Foxx’s sister, Deidra Dixon, then took him to Piedmont Hospital, where he received care that "saved his life" from the "angel" staff.
He explained that a doctor told his sister “horrible news” and told her: "He's having a brain bleed that has led to a stroke. If I don’t go in his head right now, we’re going to lose him.”
After Foxx underwent surgery, his sister was told: "We didn’t find where it was coming from, but he is having a stroke. He may be able to make a full recovery, but it’s going to be the worst year of his life."
Jamie Foxx was at first private about the medical crisis.
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Foxx said that during the surgery he remembered feeling "oddly peaceful" in a "tunnel," but he "didn't see the light."
He joked: "It was hot in that tunnel. S–t, am I going to the wrong place in this motherf–ker? Because I looked at the end of the tunnel, and I thought I saw the devil like, 'Come on.'"
The singer admitted that he "doesn't remember 20 days" – and then on May 4, he woke up in a wheelchair.
He revealed: "I was like, 'Why the f— am I in a wheelchair?' I'm just coming out of s—."
Foxx also revealed in the Netflix special he thought the whole incident felt "like a f------ prank."
The actor said that he saw a psychiatrist following the terrifying incident, and it led him to have deep conversations with God.
