Jamie Foxx Tearfully Accepts Ultimate Icon Honor at BET Awards After Health Battle

Jamie Foxx let the tears flow on stage at the 2025 BET Awards Monday night … breaking down while accepting the Ultimate Icon Award and recalling his near-death experience in 2023.

The comedian and actor graciously accepted the trophy from Stevie Wonder and immediately got vulnerable … noting he thought of his stroke and subsequent hospitalization when the “In Memoriam” tribute was playing — ’cause just two years ago, he almost didn’t make it.

He debated … “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 turn down. I’m not going to turn down.”

He also shared the powerful promise he made to God when he realized he was getting a second crack at life, explaining … “I said, for whatever reason you put this on me, I promise I’m gonna do right.”

JF said he won’t forget where he comes from, and thanked his fellow black folks for supporting him through it all — namely his comeback Netflix special “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was… “

With heartfelt gratitude, he said … “It’s like you guys held me down, and I don’t want to make this whole speech about that, but you can’t go through something like that and not testify.”

If the room wasn’t already bawling … the Oscar winner certainly gave it a run for its money as he called out his teary-eyed daughters, thanking them for giving him strength through his health scare and recovery.

Specifically, he recalled then 14-year-old Anelise sneaking into his hospital room to play him guitar when his vitals were tanking. Get this — he said his condition improved while she played, adding… “I realized God was in her guitar.”

And with his voice cracking, he made sure his older daughter, Corinne, knew how much her support helped him, saying … “You’ve always taken a backseat to everything. But when you needed to drive it, you drove.”

At that point, everyone in the room needed tissues.

As you’ll recall … Jamie was rushed to the hospital for a serious mystery illness in April 2023. He revealed he had a brain bleed and a stroke during his Netflix special, which debuted in December 2024.

He suffered his medical emergency while filming “Back in Action” with Cameron Diaz but was able to finish his scenes once recovered. The film premiered in January of this year.