Jamie Foxx says it was an “excruciating” experience getting candid about the medical emergency he suffered last year in his latest stand-up comedy special, “What Had Happened Was.”
“It was an excruciating time to be able to open those wounds every single day for three nights,” the “Django” star, 56, told CBS Mornings’ Gayle King in a backstage clip shared on Instagram Monday.
In the clip, Foxx and his team are seen celebrating the final night of his three-date show for his Netflix special, which was taped in Atlanta nearly a year-and-a-half after an undisclosed health issue left him hospitalized.
“It was excruciating because the worry is what gets you,” Foxx continued. “We’ve got a great show in the room, but we don’t know what they may laugh or what they may not laugh at. Any comedian will tell you that’s the thing, the worry is the thing.”
The Oscar winner explained that the nature of his special was unusual considering the spontaneity of it.
“Usually, when you do a stand-up special, you go out for a year-and-a-half and work every nook and cranny, then you tape it. You don’t just show up in Atlanta and turn the camera on,” he added.
Foxx has yet to publicly announce what caused his mysterious condition, but told a group of people in downtown Phoenix earlier this summer that his health issues began with a “bad headache.”
“Look, April 11 last year, bad headache, asked my boy for an Advil. I was gone for 20 days,” he said in a clip shared July 1 on X (formerly Twitter). “I don’t remember anything. I’m in Atlanta, they told me… my sister and my daughter took me to the first doctor. They gave me a cortisone shot.”
“The next doctor said, ‘There’s something going on up there,’” the actor continued while pointing to his head.
Support Free Journalism
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
He stopped short of telling the crowd what happened, adding, “I won’t say it on camera,” as the crowd laughed. “Yeah, I don’t want to say it on camera.”
In April 2023, the “Ray” star was hospitalized after he reportedly suffered an undisclosed “medical complication.”
His daughter, Corrine Foxx, first announced the news in a statement about her dad’s condition in an April 12 Instagram story.
“We wanted to share that my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday,” she said at the time. “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. The family asks for privacy during this time.”