No evidence Jamie Foxx was left partially paralyzed and blind from a blood clot in his brain following COVID-19 vaccination

Context

On May 30, 2023, American gossip journalist A.J. Benza falsely claimed on the Dr. Drew podcast that Jamie Foxx suffered a blood clot in his brain following a COVID-19 vaccine shot, leaving him partially paralyzed and blind. The claim was then repeated by British conspiracy theorist David Icke a few days later. COVID-19 vaccine skeptic Aseem Malhotra had also previously tweeted the claim, but deleted it shortly after.

According to Benza, Foxx did not want to get vaccinated but was pressured by production staff on the film he was working on. He also speculated that the actor "blew up" on the set a week before and fired three employees due to pressure to take the vaccine. Benza did not mention sources besides "someone in the room" with first-hand knowledge. No evidence exists to corroborate this account.

Benza also called previous statements from family members – who say that Foxx has been out of hospital for weeks and is recuperating – "baloney."

In Fact

Jamie Foxx was hospitalized on April 11 in Atlanta following a "medical complication" while shooting a film. According to a statement by his daughter, released on May 12, he had been out of the hospital for weeks and was recuperating. On May 15, celebrity gossip website TMZ published photos of Foxx's daughters Corinne and Anelise, along with Anelise’s mother, outside a Chicago rehabilitation center with balloons, flowers, and a guitar.

Corinne's Instagram statement, as reported by The Guardian, criticized the media attention and rumors around her dad's health, saying, "sad to see how the media runs wild," before continuing to say that he was recovering well and was "playing pickleball yesterday." Other organizations such as Health Feedback and PolitiFact have also debunked similar claims about Jamie Foxx's health.

Studies show a small increased risk of blood clots where individuals have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The condition is known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) and happens when blood clots block veins or arteries, and at the same time, there is an abnormally low level of platelets in the blood. The condition is rare; out of more than 18 million people who received J&J vaccines in the U.S., 60 cases of TTS were reported, and nine people died. As for AstraZeneca, researchers from the University of Oxford estimate that for every 10 million people vaccinated, there are around 66 cases of blood clots in veins, and seven cases of rare brain blood clots.

Because of the small potential risk, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has only been given to a small section of the U.S. population, while the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has not been used in the U.S. at all.

The Verdict

No further details about Foxx's condition have been released, and Benza has not given any sources except an unnamed "someone in the room." The two vaccines that are associated with a small risk of thrombosis are not commonly used in the U.S. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.