- Back in April, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx suffered a medical emergency while filming in Atlanta.
- Although it's been months, his fans still don't know what happened to him.
Nobody knows what's going on with Jamie Foxx — and after months of confusion, that may be intentional.
Last week, the Oscar-winning actor was seen publicly for the first time since being hospitalized in April. In a video obtained by TMZ, Foxx waved to fans while cruising down the Chicago River in a yacht, blaring his 2008 hit, "Blame It." A tweet, promoting his own brand of whiskey, then popped up on his Twitter account — his first since mid-March."Boat life ," the July 9 message read. "Celebrating summer with @brownsugarbbn Stay blessed!"
Foxx's wave and subsequent tweet sent the media into a frenzy, making international headlines. Another video then surfaced showing the comedian at a Topgolf driving range in Naperville, Illinois. In the clip, Foxx appeared healthy, hitting a golf ball with some real force.
We hope that Foxx is well, and indeed he looks well, but there's been no official word from his camp. In fact, there's been a dearth of information about Foxx's health since April.
On April 11, his daughter, Corinne, shared a family statement, revealing that Foxx had "experienced a medical complication," adding that "due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery."
CNN reported at the time that the actor was taken to a hospital in Atlanta. Foxx was in the Georgian city filming his new Netflix film "Back in Action," opposite Cameron Diaz and Glenn Close and was not on set at the time. Days later, reports surfaced that Foxx was still receiving medical care in a facility.
During the month of April, the only news about Foxx's recovery made public didn't come from his family. Instead, they trickled out from his famous friends: Martin Lawrence told Extra that he heard Foxx was "doing better," while Nick Cannon told Entertainment Tonight that he was "awake" and "alert." Kevin Hart added that although he didn't know "the exact details," Foxx was showing "a lot of progression."
For a person of Foxx's level of celebrity, where was the coordinated and perfectly-crafted message from a public relations professional on his health updates? Where was the official statement from his talent agent? Do celebrities owe their fans access to the most intimate parts of their lives, especially when it comes to health issues?
Well, it's complicated.
Part of being a celebrity is 'giving people updates,' one blogger said
Blogger and podcast host B. Scott said that the answer is nuanced.
"When you have a fanbase of people who know and love you, that is a part of being a celebrity — the good and the bad — of giving people updates is life. And life happens to you, too. And you've got to update the people," Scott said in the "Life Has Been Life-ing" episode of "The B. Scott Show" podcast around the 40-minute mark.
"That's how you make your money — from your celebrity and from people coming to your movies and television shows and things of that nature," B. Scott, who noted that Foxx gave them their first show on SiriusXM, added.
Despite being a celebrity, B. Scott admitted that they "do not know" if Foxx is "obligated" to share his health issues publicly. They added, "I don't know that to be true."
Many celebrities have an extraordinary talent that's brought them into the public's eye. Fans gravitate towards them and make these rare talents stars. It's the fandom that creates the celebrity and there's undoubtedly a symbiotic relationship where both feed on each other.
Still, celebrities are human and it's impossible for them to share everything all the time, in real-time. So whether or not celebrities owe their fans their personal lives, what's clear in Foxx's case is that he doesn't want us to know what happened. At least not right now.
Foxx's fans are accusing Corrine Foxx of spreading misinformation
The world first heard of Foxx's health incident from his daughter, Corinne. In April, the 29-year-old revealed in a family statement that her father was hospitalized and recovering from an undisclosed emergency.
Her now-deleted post read, "Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery." The post continued, "We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time."
Rumors regarding Foxx's health began to swirl immediately. Notably, Mike Tyson shared that Foxx, who has been tapped to play the former boxing superstar in a forthcoming biopic series, had a stroke.
On May 12, Corinne took to Instagram again to respond after she said the media was running "wild." In an update, she said that her father was well, playing pickleball, and has "been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating." But two days later, a seemingly conflicting update said that Foxx was at rehab center in Chicago. According to CNN, the center "specializes in rehabilitation care for patients with physical impairments, brain or spine injuries."
Scott pointed out on their podcast how his daughter's statement was inconsistent with reports and appeared to be misinformation.
"His daughter said that he was playing pickleball. Do you know how active you have to be and how coordinated you have to be to be playing pickleball?" they asked.
Scott noted that if Foxx could play a game of pickleball, the Oscar winner could certainly host his show, "Beat Shazam." However, in May, Fox, the network behind the interactive song-recognition game show, announced that Cannon would fill in for Foxx as a guest host, due to his ongoing health issues.
"Nothing is adding up," B. Scott concluded.
Insider reached out to Corinne but didn't immediately hear back.
The host also noted that Foxx, who seems to be fond of social media, typically wouldn't have an issue "going straight to camera," or talking directly to his audience to clear up rumors around his health — unless there was truth to the reports that he had a stroke.
I took a look at his Instagram account to do my own "investigation," and in February, Foxx posted 42 times. In March, one month before Foxx's medical emergency, the comedian posted 25 times. Many were photos or videos of himself, promoting his pickleball company and other projects from himself and his famous friends. In April, that number dropped to six. In May and June, the actor posted once each.
Based on the actor's pattern of posting, fans continued to question whether or not the beloved actor is even well enough to post. The proof seems to be in the posting.
It doesn't 'serve' a celebrity to give real-time updates, one celebrity publicist said
The lack of messaging around the actor's health has given way to wild conspiracy theories, too. Some have connected Foxx's illness to the COVID-19 vaccination while others have claimed that Foxx died.
If we know that the Internet is a breeding ground for misinformation, why not set the record straight?
Celebrity publicist Ernest Dukes told Insider there could be several reasons why Foxx is taking his time to speak on the record.
"We live in a world where we're so used to getting everything in real-time," he began. "Fans want instant gratification to know what's happening. When it comes to health stuff though, you may not know what's happening yourself or it's an evolving thing."
Dukes, who serves as the publicist for Babyface, Jeezy, and Charlie Wilson, added that it doesn't "serve" a celebrity to give real-time updates, especially when it comes to one's health as you could be "good today or bad tomorrow."
Still, Dukes said if Foxx were his client he'd eventually advise him to speak on the record — as much as he's comfortable sharing."It's important for him to own his own narrative. If he were my client, I'd be thinking about, 'Well, what's the best outlet where we can go do a sit-down so we can talk about it once and then get back to work,'" he added.
Dukes, who also owns a marketing and public relations agency, continued that fans have to exercise patience "and not be so entitled."
"He makes his music, we buy the album. He makes a movie, we support the film," he said of Foxx. "We're getting what we deserve and owed when we support those things."
Foxx is a performer who has brought joy to generations of people around the globe, and the public's concern for his health feels genuine. Whether Foxx lets us know what actually happened to him, or keeps his medical history to himself, which he has every right to do, we as fans have only one ask: Speak on it for yourself.