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The unsubstantiated rumor came last week from the digital "Ask Dr. Drew" show -- a guest claimed Jamie Foxx was forced to take the Covid vaccine to continue working, resulting in a blood clot leading to a stroke -- and quickly began circulating in anti-vaxxer circles.
After a rather outrageous and totally unsubstantiated anti-vaxxer rumor about Jamie Foxx' recent hospitalization began to go viral, the actor's rep stepped in to say it is not true, per NBC News.
The rumor began on the digital talk show "Ask Dr. Drew," hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky, back on May 30. Dr. Drew welcomed gossip columnist A.J. Benza who cited a source close to the actor to make his claim.
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View StoryHe then said that Foxx was left "partially paralyzed and blind" due to complications after taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Benza said he was forced to get the vaccine for a film he was working on, and that the injection led to a blood clot, ultimately resulting in a stroke.
Benza did not name his source, Pinksy did not challenge his claim, and the journalist did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment. This latest claim comes nearly a month after Foxx's daughter Corinne posted to her Instagram that he'd been home for weeks and even felt well enough to play.
His "Beat Shazam" co-host said she felt compelled to speak out about his health then -- the family has never specified why he was hospitalized -- because of erroneous speculation that he was taking a turn for the worse. Foxx was first hospitalized on April 12; he's now attending physical rehab in Chicago as part of his recovery.
This latest rumor began picking up steam in anti-vaxxer circles online, and was even acknowledged by right-wing personalities like Charlie Kirk and Kevin Sorbo, as well as conservative commentator Candace Owens on her YouTube podcast, who suggested the claim must be true because Foxx's family didn't condemn it.
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View Story"Their silence seems as though there is some veracity to this claim," she argued on Tuesday's show. "We're all holding our breath to see whether or not Jamie Foxx speaks out."
Well, she (and all her fans) can breathe now.
Pinksy responded to NBC News about the interview, saying via email he invited Benza on because the journalist said he had information about Foxx. "The statements from A.J. were based on his own confidential sources, so I can't speculate further than what he said on the show," Pinsky wrote.
"I sincerely hope that AJ's sources are wrong and Mr. Foxx will make a full recovery," he continued. "There is no evidence and I have no reason to believe that his medical condition is directly related to vaccine therapy or a post-COVID phenomenon. Any evidence of either would have to come from his physicians."
The former "Loveline" co-host previously apologized for downplaying the severity of COVID-19, calling it a "press-induced panic," after he contracted it himself in December 2020.
