- Health
No evidence that COVID-19 vaccination left actor Jamie Foxx “paralyzed and blind” from brain blood clot
Key takeaway
There’s currently no evidence that actor Jamie Foxx has been left paralyzed and blind due to a blood clot in the brain after a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. While certain COVID-19 vaccines, notably those using viral vector technology like the AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, are associated with a slightly elevated risk of developing blood clots, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines aren’t known to do the same. Numerous studies have shown that the risk of blood clotting disorders, as well as other health problems, is much higher after getting COVID-19 than after vaccination.
Reviewed content
Verdict:
Claim:
“Jamie Foxx Left ‘Paralyzed and Blind’ From ‘Blood Clot in His Brain’ After Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine”
Verdict detail
Inadequate support: There’s no evidence that actor Jamie Foxx was left paralyzed and blind after taking a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. The claim is solely based on unsubstantiated allegations from gossip columnist A.J. Benza.
Full Claim
“Jamie Foxx Left ‘Paralyzed and Blind’ From ‘Blood Clot in His Brain’ After Receiving COVID-19 Vaccine”
Review
The health of actor Jamie Foxx has come under intense speculation following reports of his hospitalization in April 2023, which was due to a “medical complication” according to his daughter Corinne Foxx.
Unsubstantiated claims about Foxx’ condition have circulated on social media since, such as the claim that he was on life support. PolitiFact debunked that claim in May 2023.
More recently, claims that Foxx was “left ‘paralyzed and blind’ from ‘blood clot in his brain’” due to a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine have spread online, after gossip columnist A.J. Benza made this allegation on the podcast “Ask Dr. Drew” on 30 May 2023, citing an unnamed source. Benza also further claimed that Foxx had been forced to get the COVID-19 vaccine for a film he was working in.
The claim was later picked up by entertainment outlet OK! Magazine and numerous social media users, including COVID-19 vaccine skeptic and cardiologist Aseem Malhotra who tweeted the claim and deleted it shortly afterwards.
However, there’s currently no evidence that Foxx is now paralyzed or blind, or that COVID-19 vaccination were related to his hospitalization. On 9 May 2023, Corinne Foxx posted a video on Instagram showing her and her father in an advertisement for Intel laptops, although it’s unknown when the video was made.
On 12 May 2023, Corinne Foxx wrote in an Instagram story that her father had been “out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday!”, as shown by reports from Vanity Fair and The Guardian. To date, Foxx’s family haven’t mentioned COVID-19 vaccines as being related to his medical condition. On 15 May 2023, Fox News announced that Foxx and his daughter would be hosting an upcoming game show “We Are Family”, scheduled to debut in 2024.
On 8 June 2023, NBC News reported that Foxx’ representatives had come forward to address Benza’s claim, calling it “completely inaccurate”.
On 22 July 2023, Foxx posted a video to his Instagram, clarifying that he wasn’t paralyzed or blind, as some claimed.
Baseless and inaccurate claims that health problems experienced by celebrities and athletes are due to COVID-19 vaccines have been rife during the pandemic.
While certain COVID-19 vaccines, notably those using viral vector technology like the AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, are associated with a slightly elevated risk of developing blood clots, COVID-19 mRNA vaccines aren’t known to do the same. Furthermore, numerous studies have shown that the risk of blood clotting disorders, as well as other health problems, is much higher after getting COVID-19 than after vaccination[1-7].
UPDATE (24 July 2023):
We updated this review to include a link to a video showing Foxx, released on 22 July 2023, clarifying that he was not “paralyzed” or “blind” as claimed. This was added to the eighth paragraph of the review.
UPDATE (12 June 2023):
This review was updated to include a statement by Foxx’ representatives, reported on 8 June 2023 by NBC News, in the seventh paragraph of the review.
REFERENCES
- 1 – Wichmann et al. (2020) Autopsy Findings and Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With COVID-19: A Prospective Cohort Study. Annals of Internal Medicine.
- 2 – Douillet et al. (2021) Risk of symptomatic venous thromboembolism in mild and moderate COVID-19: A comparison of two prospective European cohorts. Thrombosis Research.
- 3 – Raisi-Estabragh et al. (2022) Cardiovascular disease and mortality sequelae of COVID-19 in the UK Biobank. Heart.
- 4 – Knight et al. (2022) Association of COVID-19 With Major Arterial and Venous Thrombotic Diseases: A Population-Wide Cohort Study of 48 Million Adults in England and Wales. Circulation.
- 5 – Hippisley-Cox et al. (2021) Risk of thrombocytopenia and thromboembolism after covid-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 positive testing: self-controlled case series study. BMJ.
- 6 – Xie et al. (2022) Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19. Nature Medicine.
- 7 – Writing Committee. (2022) 2022 ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Cardiovascular Sequelae of COVID-19 in Adults: Myocarditis and Other Myocardial Involvement, Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection, and Return to Play: A Report of the American College of Cardiology Solution Set Oversight Committee. Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
