After suffering an unspecified medical emergency weeks ago, actor and comedian Jamie Foxx unintentionally became a symbol of the anti-vax movement against big pharma, thanks to wild rumors about his condition. Now his rep is taking a stand and setting the record straight.
Since mid-April, Foxx has been MIA, dealing with an undisclosed “medical complication” that has kept him from acting and appearing online, in film, and on television. In recent weeks, family members, including Foxx’s daughter Corinne Foxx, have asked fans to pray for the actor, but no details have been shared about what caused his hospitalization, his current condition, or his prognosis.
Jamie Foxx, known for films like Horrible Bosses (2011), Rio 2 (2014), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), and Annie (2014), also has several Disney credits on his resume. For the House of Mouse, Foxx lent his voice to the Disney/PIXAR film Soul (2020), which tells the story of middle school band teacher Joe Gardner (voiced by Foxx), who’s still looking for his purpose in life. When he finds it, he struggles to understand why he still doesn’t feel satisfied. It’s an excellent film for grieving individuals processing the grief and pain of loss, as this writer unexpectedly discovered in 2022. You can read more about that here.
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Jamie Foxx also reprised his role as Electro from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), a film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But since April, Foxx has been greatly missed by his fans, and his continued absence from the public eye, as well as a lack of communication about the actor’s health status from his family and friends, has left many of those fans confused and concerned. So when Hollywood gossip columnist AJ Benza chimed in with his claim about Foxx’s health during a recent episode of the Ask Dr. Drew podcast, hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky, claiming he had inside information, many were only too happy to believe him. During the podcast, Hollywood journalist AJ Benza claimed that in April, Foxx reluctantly received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and as a result, he was rendered partially blind and paralyzed. Though Benza’s claims were never substantiated, some took his report at face value and began sharing the report on social media.
Only weeks before Benza went public with his claim, Foxx’s friend and former professional wrestler Mike Tyson said during an interview that Foxx had suffered a stroke, but that report was never validated by the actor or his family either.
Now, however, a representative for Foxx (and presumably Foxx himself) has apparently grown weary of the continual spread of misinformation about the actor and comedian. This week, a spokesperson for the actor and comedian shut down rumors about the actor having received a COVID vaccine and experiencing serious adverse reactions, once and for all. Though he didn’t share any information about Foxx’s current condition or the “medical complication” that led to his hospitalization in mid-April, the actor’s representative did tell NBC News that Benza’s claims are “completely inaccurate,” clarifying that the columnist’s claims are entirely false.
We wish Jamie Foxx a swift and healthy recovery, and we wish his family well as they support him during this challenging time.