Jamie Foxx says he'll talk about health scare in stand-up bit 'What Had Happened Was' (2024)

After plenty of teases, Jamie Foxx says he’s going to finally share the details of his mysterious 2023 medical emergency. But it will be on his terms, in a “funny way” and likely onstage.

The Oscar and Grammy Award winner, who suffered an undisclosed “medical complication” in April and raised concerns about his well-being for months, revealed Sunday that he’s going back to his stand-up roots to tell everyone what happened.

Variety reported that the multi-hyphenate offered attendees of the African American Film Critics Assn.’s Special Achievement Awards luncheon a taste of his material, which was “a mix of heartfelt reflection” and “some top-notch zingers.”

The “Ray” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” star delivered his lines while accepting the association’s Producers Award with his Foxxhole Productions partner Datari Turner, who co-produced Netflix’s mystery-comedy “They Cloned Tyrone” and Amazon’s courtroom drama “The Burial.”

Jamie Foxx attends the African American Film Critics Assn.’s Special Achievement Awards luncheon Sunday in Los Angeles.

(Jordan Strauss / Invision / Associated Press)

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But the 56-year-old knew that people had something else on their minds.

“Everybody wants to know what happened, and I’m going to tell you what happened. But I’ve gotta do it in my way,” Foxx said, according to Variety. “I’m gonna do it in a funny way. We’re gonna be on the stage. We’re gonna get back to the stand-up sort of roots.”

“It’ll be called, ‘What Had Happened Was,’ and it’s got all the things that happened, especially on our side of our community,” he said. The comic was referring to the rampant speculation about his health emergency, including Foxx “clone” sightings and the rumor that he “dove out of a car to save this Black woman’s purse.”

Representatives for Foxx did not immediately respond Tuesday to The Times’ request for further comment about the plans.

“The Jamie Foxx Show” and “In Living Color” alum also told the audience that he was thankful and that he got emotional when recalling the episode “because it was really… it’s beyond the scope.”

“Cherish life. I have some people in my life that really made sure I was here because it was dire straits,” he added.

Concerns about Foxx’s well-being began April 12 when his daughter Corinne announced in a since-deleted Instagram post that he had had a medical emergency and that he was “already on his way to recovery” due to “quick action and great care.” Absent official updates from Camp Foxx, reports persisted speculating about the multihyphenate. TMZ reported that he had been hospitalized for at least three weeks in Atlanta after suffering the medical complication while working on his latest movie, “Back in Action” — his co-star Cameron Diaz’s highly anticipated acting comeback project. (He rejoined her on set in January.)

About a month after her initial announcement, Corinne Foxx shut down rampant rumors about the hospitalization, lamenting “how the media runs wild” and adding that her dad had “been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating” and even playing pickleball. Both Foxxes handed over hosting duties on “Beat Shazam” to pal Nick Cannon and Kelly Osbourne during the health crisis but have since said they’ll return to hosting duties.

The film and TV star opened up about the health scare for the first time in July but never shared the nature of the ailment or the diagnosis. In August, Foxx told his followers that he was “finally starting to feel like myself.”

“It’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light… I’m thankful to everyone that reached out and sent well wishes and prayers… I have a lot of people to thank… u just don’t know how much it meant.”

In December, when he was presented the Vanguard award at the Critics Choice Celebration of Cinema & Television, Foxx addressed some of the speculation about his health, as well as joking that he’s “not a clone.”

“I’ve been through some things. You know it’s crazy, I couldn’t do that six months ago. I couldn’t actually walk,” he said. “I know a lot of people were saying I was cloned out there, well y’all ain’t s—.”