Jamie Foxx opens up about getting a new lease on life, and sings, while keeping the story on his own terms in Netflix special
Jamie Foxx tightly controls what information he reveals about himself. The Oscar-winning actor and Grammy-winning singer hasn’t participated in an in-depth magazine profile since 2004. More recently, he dated Katie Holmes for six years and never talked about the relationship publicly. So when he suffered a life-threatening health emergency in April 2023, it wasn’t out of character for him to not share details about what happened.
He was waiting until he could tell the story on his own terms, which he finally does in his new Netflix special “What Had Happened Was…” In the tear-jerking special, Foxx — whose persona is one of an alpha male playboy who’s always the coolest guy in the room — gets vulnerable. He’s still funny, he’s still cool and still in control, but he’s been humbled. He’s someone who faced a near-death experience and came out the other side changed, but still himself.
The special is entirely about Foxx’s “mystery illness” — which he confirms was a stroke — and recovery. It’s part one-man show and part musical performance, but really it’s a sermon, as Foxx spends a large chunk of the special describing the spiritual journey he’s been on since the incident. His gratitude for God, his family and the medical professionals who helped him literally get back on his feet is palpable, and at times he gets so choked up that he has to pause to collect himself. He’s also frank about the anger and depression he felt about being confronted with his own mortality. His emotion is raw and sincere, and the audience in the theater sheds some tears along with him, as home viewers surely will, too. But the hour is full of laughter as well. Foxx’s mantra throughout the special is “If I can stay funny, I can stay alive,” and he finds power in laughing through the pain.
“What Had Happened Was” starts with a montage of headlines and social media conspiracy theory clips about his medical emergency, then an introduction from his daughter Corinne, until finally Foxx steps onstage and dances for 90 seconds while the crowd cheers, occasionally stopping to wipe tears from his eyes. It’s a triumphant declaration of survival that sets a celebratory tone for what’s to come. Even when he’s recounting the darkest moments of his recovery, Foxx is never too far from a joke or a moment of joy. He is happy to be alive.
Dressed in a tan leather t-shirt and matching pants and showing no signs of lingering impairment, Foxx alternates between raunchy jokes and tributes to the people who saved his life. One of the first jokes he makes addresses a conspiracy theory that Diddy tried to have him killed, Foxx jokes “Hell nah, I left them parties early.
