Jamie Foxx Reveals All About “Mystery Illness” In Netflix Special

Peter White
·3-min read

SPOILER ALERT! This story contains spoilers for Netflix stand-up special Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was…

“What had happened was…,” a tearful Jamie Foxx starts saying a few minutes into his first stand-up special since he was struck down by a “mystery illness” in April 2023.

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After being introduced to the stage by his daughter Corrine Foxx, the comedian revealed all about his medical emergency and the subsequent fallout.

“It is a mystery, we still don’t know exactly what happened to me,” he said. “I was having a bad headache and I asked my boy for an aspirin. Before I could get the aspirin, I went out. I don’t remember 20 days. What they told me was they took me to the first doctor and they gave me a cortisone shot and sent me home. I don’t know if you can do Yelps for doctors but that’s half a star. My sister said ‘No’. Four foot eleven, and full of nothing but love, she said something’s wrong with my brother.”

After paying tribute to his sister Deidra Dixon, Foxx said she took him to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, which “put me back together.” This was when he met Dr. Schuette, a white doctor in an LA Lakers jersey. “He said ‘He’s having a brain bleed that’s led to a stroke’,” he added. “They took me into operate on me… your life doesn’t flash before your face, it was oddly peaceful.”

In between tear-jearking moments, Foxx danced to prove he’s “still sexy” and kept repeating the words “Atlanta saved my life”.

He also referenced Sean “Diddy” Combs, as well as Katt Williams, who said in his own Netflix special, “Never in the history of medicine has there been a mystery illness. A mystery illness means your ass is fine.”

“Katt Williams got in on it,” Foxx said. “Katt will say 2,000 things that don’t make sense but then say four things that make sense and put sir at the end of it.”

Foxx revealed that he woke up on May 4, 2023. “When I woke up I found myself in a wheelchair, I couldn’t walk. Jamie Foxx don’t get strokes. That’s old man, shit,” he said.

Then he opened up about his rehab in Chicago. He talked about protecting his “pickle” from the nurse, his conversations with God, difficulties wiping his own rear-end as well as impressions of Mike Tyson (“I’ll fight Jake Paul, Logan Paul, RuPaul”), Dave Chappelle, Jay Z, Donald Trump (“I like the Blacks, they’re eating dogs”).

“If I can stay funny, I can stay alive,” he repeated during the taping before launching into song at the piano.

He joked about being called a clone on the internet, saying that even though he was spotted on a boat and saved a woman’s lost purse, it wasn’t until he was spotted with a white woman that the trolls believed he was still alive.

“For all of those people who still call me a clone after seeing this special, I got one thing to say to you on the internet: fuck you,” he said.

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