Jamie Foxx’s Netflix special “What Had Happened Was” delivered everything we’ve come to expect from this generational talent. The performative polymath offered a deeply personal and candid exploration of his recent medical ordeal in Atlanta, all while employing his signature humor and uncanny impersonations.
Viewers might not have anticipated the performance’s revivalistic undertone, though. Foxx’s stand-up sometimes felt less like a comedy special and more like a traditional Southern testimony service — an altar call wrapped in laughter and lived experience. Through his blend of vulnerability, tear-jerking appreciation for his family and medical team, and reflections on his renewed emphasis on faith, Foxx invited his audience to something more than entertainment. He took them to church.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
As a scholar of religion and someone whose life has been shaped by African American rhetorical cultures, Foxx’s performance felt natural. There has always been a fine line between the presumed sacred and secular in Black performance and vernacular. Some scholars describe the Black church as the first Black theater: a transformative space where moral imaginations are expanded and congregants enter alternative worlds of possibility and hope. Here, narratives of joy, lament, despair and triumph are stitched into a quilt of tragicomic exuberance.
W.E.B. Du Bois’ classic description of the Black preacher as a leader, orator and idealist finds resonance in the likes of Black comedians and singers. Performers such as Foxx embody these qualities, often occupying roles that usher audiences into transcendent spaces where they can voice their hopes, dreams and disappointments. From Ma Rainey to Fantasia, Little Richard to Richard Pryor, these performers — like Black preachers — create moments where people leave, as classic gospel singers might shout, “Willing to run on and see what the end’s gonna be.”
This was the beauty and brilliance of Foxx’s Netflix performance. He used his health scare and recovery to entertain and challenge. For his fellow Generation Xers, of which I am one, Foxx’s story was a wake-up call to confront the illusions of ego and invincibility as our “robes of flesh” begin to decay. Foxx asked us to reconsider our priorities: to reevaluate the glorification of money, status and individual accomplishments and, instead, elevate friendships, family and communities of faith.
Foxx is not alone in his renewed focus on faith following a health scare. Surveys reveal that individuals battling illness often turn to spiritual categories and rituals to make sense of their diagnosis. According to a National Cancer Institute study, 77% of patients believe physicians should consider their spiritual needs, and 37% want doctors to address religious beliefs more frequently.
This phenomenon, often called the “foxhole effect,” refers to the saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” Evidence suggests that life-threatening illnesses amplify religious commitment and spiritual concern. Public health surveys of the general population rarely capture this religious fervor because it emerges most intensely in times of crisis. This underscores the importance of integrating faith and health in both religious and medical contexts.
These are not merely “faith claims.” Research from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University shows that individuals who regularly participate in faith communities are more likely to be socially and civically engaged, express gratitude and volunteer. They are also less likely to suffer from depression, alienation and loneliness.
Jamie Foxx’s performance, whether intentionally or not, tapped into these truths. By expressing unbridled gratitude for life, the love of his family and the significance of his faith, Foxx might have done something far greater than entertain. He challenged a society obsessed with celebrity, individuality and invincibility to reevaluate its altar of worship. In an age in which “me, myself and I” often take precedence, Foxx pointed us back to the enduring power of connection and community.
Perhaps this was the greatest lesson from “What Had Happened Was.” Through his storytelling, Foxx reminded us that the true measure of a life is not found in accolades or fame but in the grace we extend, the love we nurture and the faith we carry. And if Foxx’s performance teaches us to replace our false gods with these enduring virtues, then he will have left us, as the old preachers say, “standing on higher ground.”
Jonathan Lee Walton, an Atlanta native and Morehouse College graduate, is the president of Princeton Theological Seminary. A scholar of religion and American culture, he is the author of “A Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World” and “Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism.”
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