Friends and fans of Jamie Foxx are continuing to pray as the actor recovers from an undisclosed “medical complication.”
The beloved entertainer was transported to a rehab facility in Chicago after spending weeks at a hospital in Atlanta. As previously reported, the Foxx family has chosen to remain tight-lipped about his condition. But now the future of him playing Mike Tyson in an upcoming biopic is uncertain.
The former heavyweight champion recently appeared on the “PBD Podcast,” where he was asked if he’d been following the news about Foxx’s condition in the media.
“He’s not feeling well,” said Tyson in the May 16 episode. “They said a stroke. I have no idea what happened to him.”
Podcast host Patrick Bet-David claims he saw Foxx not too long before he fell ill. He said the actor looked “really good” at the time.
“Hey, listen, we can’t anticipate our next breath. We don’t know when we are gonna die,” said Tyson. “After we leave this, bad stuff can happen.”
“The Hangover” star shared that Foxx was scheduled to play him in his upcoming biopic series that has been talked about for years.
“Well, it was a possibility. I don’t know what’s going to happen now. But, you know, it’s a strong possibility,” said Tyson, adding that the series planned to use technology to make Foxx appear younger.
“Because, you know, Jamie’s closer to my age, so in order to do him they were going to do what they did with ‘Benjamin Button.’ You remember that?”
In regards to the family staying private, the 56-year-old added, “If we don’t know about it by now, they don’t want us to know.”
Foxx reportedly is recovering at a Chicago facility that specializes in stroke recovery, traumatic brain injury rehab, and spinal cord injury rehab, according to TMZ.
The 55-year-old was in Atlanta filming scenes for his movie “Back In Action” when he fell ill. He was taken to a local hospital on April 11, where he remained for weeks undergoing further testing from doctors. This was also weeks after the executive producer suffered a “major meltdown” on set and fired four staffers.
A series of unexpected reports about Foxx’s condition raised more questions than answers among his fans and industry friends. Some outlets reported that he was communicating, which implied he may not have been able to speak at one time.
On May 12, Foxx’s daughter, Corinne Foxx announced that her father had been released from the hospital “weeks ago.” This was after some reports claimed Foxx was on life support and the family was “preparing for the worst.” She was spotted visiting her father in rehab last week with his youngest daughter, Annalise Bishop.
In light of Foxx’s condition, Nick Cannon was asked to step in as temporary host of “Beat Shazam.” The game show’s sixth season also replaced his daughter Corinne with Kelly Osbourne.
“Now, I know what you all are thinking: That ain’t Jamie Foxx,” Cannon told the crowd during the May 23 premiere. “And you are absolutely right. I’m actually Nick Cannon, and I’m honored that Jamie asked me to fill in for him, so make no mistake: this is Jamie Foxx’s house.”
The comedian served as host of this show for five seasons and gave away nearly $12 million, said Cannon. He plans to do his best to live up to Foxx’s legacy.
“I’mma do my best to live up to Jamie’s ‘Beat Shazam’ legacy,” said the “Wild ‘N Out” creator, “which means I need to do three things: play the biggest hit songs on the planet — I got that — throw a party every single night — got that — and give away how much money?”
The father-daughter duo was recently announced as hosts of another forthcoming game show called “We Are Family.”
The new game show is set to debut next year.
