Jamie Foxx has spoken out for the first time about his mystery health scare.
The Collateral and Django Unchained actor was admitted to hospital in April with what his family called a “medical complication”.
Specific details about the 55-year-old’s illness remained undisclosed, which prompted many to make several conspiracy theories that his representatives were forced to debunk.
Foxx has now spoken out on his experience, explaining why he stayed out of the public eye.
“I just didn’t want you to see me like that,” he said in an Instagram video. “I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, a television show.
He added: “I just didn’t want you to see me with tubes running out of me and trying to figure out if I was going to make it through.”
Foxx, who can be seen in new Netflix film They Cloned Tyrone, did not reveal what had been wrong with him, but said: “I did go to hell and back. My road to recovery had some potholes as well but I’m coming back, and I’m able to work.”
He praised his family, daughter Corinne and sister Deondra Dixon, for “protecting” him from the media.
Growing emotional, he continued by thanking his fans.
“I just want to say that I love everybody, and I love all the love that I got. I am on my way back. I cannot even begin to tell you how far it took me and how it brought me back. I went through something that I thought I would never, ever go through.”
Jamie Foxx shares first statement on mystery illness— (Getty Images for Palm Springs In)
At the time he was taken ill, Foxx was in Georgia, USA, shooting the forthcoming Netflix film Back in Action.
The film marked an on-screen reunion with Any Given Sunday (1999) and Annie (2014) co-star Cameron Diaz, who has since returned to filming while body doubles sub in for Foxx.
The Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) movie marks Diaz’s first film since stepping away from acting in 2014.
After it was reported that Foxx had been taken to a medical facility, many of his peers wished the actor a speedy recovery on Instagram.
They Cloned Tyrone is available to stream on Netflix now – find The Independent’s review here.
