When a beloved actor’s name trends on social media, it usually means one of three things: They’ve done something awful, they’ve done something great, or they’ve become ill and/or passed away. Unfortunately, Jamie Foxx fell into the latter category when it was revealed on April 11 that the Django Unchained actor had been hospitalized for unknown reasons, was in recovery, and that it was “serious.”
Because the reason for Foxx’s health scare has been kept intentionally vague by his family and representatives, it has led to a vast array of conspiracy theories. After his release from the hospital, some outlets reported that his family was “preparing for the worst,” leading many to naturally assume the actor’s life was in peril. However, Foxx’s daughter, Corrine Foxx, quickly debunked this, saying her dad was “out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday!”
Still, there’s been no official word on what landed Foxx in the hospital in the first place, or why he was undergoing physical rehabilitation. Enter A.J. Benza, the American gossip who claimed that Foxx was not fine, was not playing pickleball, and in fact, was actually blind and paralyzed due to medical complications from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Needless to say, the rumor spread like wildfire. Whether there’s any fact to it is another matter entirely.
Is gossip columnist A.J. Benza correct — is Jamie Foxx really blind and paralyzed from the COVID-19 vaccine?
A.J. Benza’s long history as a gossip columnist precedes him, so right away, it should be noted that gossip isn’t fact. While speaking with Dr. Drew on the May 30 episode of the Ask Dr. Drew podcast, Benza claimed Foxx was “pressured” to get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to work on the set of his movie Back in Action with Cameron Diaz, and that as a result, he suffered a blood clot in his brain.
Benza says that he has spoken with people inside the hospital where Foxx is being held (he doesn’t believe Foxx has actually been released as has been reported) and that the actor isn’t actually “communicating” as his daughter implies; Benza says communicating could mean a number of things — “Writing, sign language. I know those little code words,” he claims.
Indeed, theories such as Benza’s have been circulating online for quite some time. Conspiracy theorists have latched on to that low-hanging fruit to explain Foxx’s “medical complication,” but the truth of the matter is none of it is rooted in actual evidence. The problematic and baseless conspiracy theory Benza has touted is the kind of fodder that fans the flames of public panic. At present, there is no evidence or proof that Foxx has indeed suffered a blood clot or gone blind and paralyzed, let alone as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The conviction with which Benza and Dr. Drew speak can seem alluring, but it’s important to remember it is all gossip. In fact, both men make vast, sweeping claims on the podcast like all Black men are susceptible to hypertension and that if “they” don’t stay on medication, they suffer strokes and die. It takes only a few minutes of watching them talk to realize everything they toss back and forth is just hearsay. The “facts” they claim to know are simply whispers muttered through the grapevine from people they know or friends of people they know. If you want to know what real journalism looks like, it’s not that.
There is no official word on Foxx’s health at the time of writing. The best course of action is to stay clear of wild claims such as Benza’s until a reliable source such as Foxx himself decides to speak out on the matter. Until then, should you come across another rumor by the infamous gossip columnist, it’s best to take it with the biggest grain of salt.
