Jamie Foxx teared up during the 2025 BET Awards as he recalled his recent stroke.
“Man, we used to take this thing for granted — that God is good,” Foxx, 57, said as he accepted the Ultimate Icon Honor at the Monday, June 9 ceremony in Los Angeles.
“All the time,” he continued. “I cannot even begin to express the love that I feel from everybody out there.”
He added, “I gotta be honest — when I saw the ‘in memoriam’ [portion of the awards show], I was like, ‘Man, that could have been me.’ But I don’t know why I went through what I went through, but I know my second chance I’m not going [to] turn down. I’m not going to turn down.”
The Oscar-winning actor recalled requesting “one more crack” at life.
“I said whatever reason you put this on me, I promise I’mma do right,” he told the audience. “I’mma do right in front of y’all, because I know a lot of times, when we get on we forget about where we come from.”
In April 2023, Foxx suffered a medical emergency that left him hospitalized. He revealed in his December 2024 Netflix special that he had a brain bleed that led to a stroke.
Foxx explained that he experienced a bad headache at the time and asked a friend for some medicine.
“Before I could get the aspirin, I went out,” he said. “I don’t remember 20 days. What they told me was that they took me to the first doctor and that first doctor gave me a cortisone shot and sent me home,” he continued. “What the f*** is that? I don’t know if you can do Yelps for doctors, but that’s half a star.”
Foxx’s younger sister, Deidra Dixon, sought a second opinion at Atlanta’s Piedmont Hospital, where a doctor informed her of Foxx’s brain bleed and stroke and told her, “If I don’t go into his head right now, we’re gonna lose him.”
During his speech Monday, Foxx thanked his team “for pulling me through. I’m seasoned. I don’t want to say I’m old, but I am older. So, usually at this time, at this age, you’re playing that father on Disney. You know, you got that big-a** sweater and the coffee mug? But luckily, I have a great team that stabilized me.”
Addressing his peers in the Black community, he added: “The Icon Award is the most important award because it comes from us.”



