Jamie Foxx couldn't believe he 'had a stroke' as he grappled with rumor Diddy was trying to 'kill me'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jamie Foxx is finally opening up about the intense personal struggle he experienced during his health scare in 2023 and the bizarre conspiracy theories it gave rise to.
In a new roundtable interview, the actor shared just how disorienting and surreal the experience became, especially after learning about the wild stories being circulated online.
Jamie Foxx says ‘Puffy didn’t try to kill me’ amid conspiracy theories
Foxx revealed that while recovering in the hospital, he secretly used his phone to check what was being said about him online.
“I snuck in my phone because I didn’t know what the outside world was saying, and I couldn’t get my mind around the fact that I had a stroke,” Foxx said in the interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, May 22.
“I’m in f***ing perfect shape. [I see things like,] ‘Puffy tried to kill me.’ No, Puffy didn’t try to kill me,” Foxx added.
The rumors didn’t stop there. The internet buzzed with even more bizarre claims while Foxx was hospitalized.
Jamie Foxx recalls losing it over clone rumors
Jamie Foxx shared that one of the wildest rumors he heard was that he had been replaced with a clone. “When they said I was a clone, that made me flip,” said Foxx.
“I’m sitting in the hospital bed, like, ‘These bitcha*s mother****rs are trying to clone me.’ And then I saw me walk into my room, but I’m white, so I see the white me.”
Foxx’s reaction was so intense that it prompted a psychiatrist to check in on him.
“I say, ‘Am I alright or am I all-white? I saw you trying to get the white motherf***ing Jamie Foxx and it ain’t going to happen,’” Foxx recalled.
“[The doctor] just calmly goes, ‘I think we’re going to lower your dosage,’” he said.
Jamie Foxx says he 'went to hell and back'
In his 2024 Netflix comedy special 'Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was', Foxx opened up about how his symptoms started in April 2023 with a severe headache, which later led to a brain bleed and then a stroke.
At the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, Foxx described how the experience changed his view on life.
“You know how you take a picture on your cell phone and you hit that first filter and it brightens up? That’s the way life looks now. Everything is altered,” Foxx told E! News.
“When it actually happens to you, you appreciate it more, I appreciate these moments more," he added.
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Though he remained mostly quiet about the details, Foxx did post a video in July 2023 to address public speculation about vision loss and paralysis.
"They said I was paralyzed, I’m not paralyzed, but I went to hell and back, and my road to recovery had some potholes as well. I’m coming back and I’m able to work," he said in the emotional video.
