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Jamie Foxx Tells Gayle King It Was ‘Excruciating’ to Open Up About Health Scare for New Stand-Up Show
Oct
Jamie Foxx is making his return to the spotlight after a serious health scare, and he’s using humor to process the experience. In an exclusive conversation with CBS Mornings‘ Gayle King, Foxx opened up about the emotional toll of reliving his health ordeal for his new Netflix comedy special, What Had Happened Was.
“It was excruciating to open those wounds every single day for three nights,” Foxx told King in a backstage interview posted on Instagram. Foxx had just completed a three-night taping of the special in Atlanta. “The worry is the thing,” Foxx continued, explaining how nerve-wracking it was to gauge the audience’s reactions. “Any comedian will tell you that’s the thing, the worry is the thing.”
Foxx was hospitalized in April 2023 due to a mysterious “medical complication,” which kept him out of the public eye for months. His daughter, Corinne Foxx, first shared the news, but Foxx himself remained tight-lipped about the details, only breaking his silence briefly with a thankful Instagram post in May.
Despite updates from friends like Kevin Hart and Martin Lawrence, Foxx chose to keep his recovery private, explaining later that he didn’t want fans to see him in a vulnerable state. In his conversation with King, he expressed relief at finally being able to share his journey publicly, albeit with some comedic twists. “My next jokes will start out, ‘knock, knock,'” he quipped, vowing that he’s ready to move on from this chapter.
Reflecting on his recovery, Foxx said, “I am never going to go through this again.” The star had revealed in previous interviews that his health scare had left him unable to walk at one point, describing it as a time when he “went to hell and back.”
Foxx’s comedy special blends humor with moments of vulnerability, with King herself commenting that she had “never seen a show where we were laughing and crying at the same time.” The special has yet to release an air date, but Foxx will return to the big screen in Back in Action alongside Cameron Diaz, marking her comeback to acting.
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