Jamie Foxx really surprised me with his latest appearance at a charity event for Quincy Jones’ Global Down Syndrome Foundation. He came with his sister, DeOndra Dixon, who has Downs, and explained that she lives with him, along with his other sister and his mom and dad. It’s obvious that Jamie has a lot of love for Diondra, and he was even joking around about her. She laughed at him and rolled her eyes when he was gushing about her. Here’s ET Online’s coverage and you can watch their video through their website.
We’ve seen Jamie Foxx with his sister DeOndra Dixon on the red carpet but now he’s putting her in the spotlight and opening up about caring for a sibling with down syndrome.
“This little lady right here lives with me along with my other sister, along with my father and my mother. So, we’re one big happy family,” Foxx said while seated next to DeOndra.
On Saturday night, DeOndra and her peers participated in the Be Beautiful, Be Yourself Jet Set Fashion Show where music great Quincy Jones and “Survivor” host Jeff Probst were both in attendance. The event went to benefit Global Down Syndrome Foundation. Foxx said of the evening, “This is just so amazing that she gets to do her thing where the spotlight is on her. The focus is on her. It means a lot.”
The actor couldn’t help but dote on his sister, telling ET, “I don’t call it a condition. I just call it living. … When she loves, she loves. When she’s mad, she’s mad. When she cries, she cries. When she’s happy, she’s happy, but she always tells the truth.”
He said the message of this event was to be yourself and to recognize that there’s “beautiful everywhere.”
[From ET Online]
That’s so nice! I used to see Jamie Foxx as this kind of smarmy guy who used a music career as a side gig to get laid, but even if he does do that, and he probably does, he’s a nice guy! He’s taking care of his family and he didn’t just buy them a house or hire people for them, he’s living with them. I love that.
The event that Jamie and his sister attended raised $1.45 million which will go to the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Now here are some pictures of Jamie shirtless and also outside a club. Because you know that’s how you still see him. (Me too.) I would hit that and only feel slightly guilty.
Photos are from August. Credit: BRJ and WIC/Fame Pictures
I wish I had a big brother like that! Kudos to Jamie for helping his family
Ain’t that just sweet! Never thought of Jamie Fox being kind or sweet! I always seen him as everything being all about him!
wow now thats just cute, thanks for posting.
A hot guy working on social issues, yummy!
Aw, this sort of makes up for the time he told 15 year old Miley Cyrus (pre slut make over) to get a gum transplant. The man doesn’t always have the greatest sense of tact.
But, this is a really heart warming story. Good for Jamie! Caring for a family member who has special needs has to be a very emotional experience. It seems like his family has kept strong and filled their house with love, which is always a wonderful thing to see. I wish them all the best!
I can’t stand him BUT this was very nice of him.
I can’t stand him either and not to take away from his good deeds or anything, but I don’t think he deserves a medal for this. He’s doing what any decent person SHOULD be doing – especially with his celeb status and financial resources – supporting his sister when she needs him.
I got Kaiser to agree to feature Jamie Foxx on HGF this week! We haven’t done him yet.
i just can’t stand him. period.
i had no idea.. why does he always seem so arrogant then
What a good guy! And yes, of course he SHOULD be caring for his family, but in this day & age & especially considering his celebrity I think he should be recognized for it. So many people (celeb or otherwise) choose to forget those who need them most
His sister is really cute. He does come across as a genuine and caring individual — that’s a rarity in this world.
He’s all good in my books and I wish him much happiness and success.
Well this just boosted him in my book. I always took him as an egomaniac all about himself. How kind that he didn’t just throw money at his family. It’s rare to find a celebrity living with their parents and siblings, unless you’re Justin Beiber. LOL!
Good for him
I think this is really sweet. Good for him!
Nice to see he is being a good brother/son.
On another note, never seen him with his shirt off I didn’t realize Foxx was so, shall we say, fit. 😉
That is awesome. It makes me sad to think that people can live full and rewarding lives with DS yet 9 out of 10 babies with a DS diagnosis don’t make it to birth because of abortion.
@Jack: well, a lot of people consider me to be pretty cold-hearted and arrogant but when it comes to my niece [who has pentasomy x, a genetic disorder] i will punch a nun in the throat for her, i would do anything and everything for her because i love her so much… i mean, even arrogant jackasses can be unselfish from time to time… 🙂
He won me over when he came out swinging about Roman Polanski. I Love him and b/c I agree with him on a human level, I will continue to support his projects with my very hard to come by $$$$. (unlike that hypocrite J.Depp)
And Foxx is a fine actor. All his films are great. (same w/w.harrelson)
****I especially love how he said, “everything she does is the truth!” from my experience working with ppl w/down syndrome…..that’s a generalized truth. They are truth. Like lying doesn’t exist in their reality. We can all learn a thing or two from that!
@girl: i get what you mean, i really really do [many times i wonder what i would have done had i been the one pregnant with my special needs niece]… i dont think i would have carried her to term [and i love her to DEATH] bc she goes through some of the toughest BS bc of her condition, constantly sick, constantly treated like subhuman by others that dont “get” her or her kind, constant meetings with negligent teachers and doctors…
i STRONGLY believe that it should remain a personal choice, something that the mother [and/or father] have to live with forever [not just until they are 18]… i mean, its “sad” to think about what could have been but i certainly do not like to live my life with what-ifs…
never much liked him, but i admit this gives me a little more respect for him.
CB, I’d hit that and not EVEN think twice!
You ever think that maybe the would-be parents of a special needs child abort the pregnancy out of mercy? This will not be a popular opinion, but I would most certainly abort if my child was going to be disabled to the point where they could never live on their own, experience romantic love or have any semblance of an independent life. I would not want my child going through life like that.
@girl: People with Down Syndrome often have very weak hearts. Because of this condition, many DS fetuses do not survive until the end or pregnancy, or are stillborn, or die very soon after birth. Its not as if those 9 out of 10 aborted DS pregnancies would have resulted in 9 living people, more like 3 or 4.
Sorry to sound so cold hearted. I have nothing but admiration for parents who make the tough decision to go through with a pregnancy in these circumstances. But I respect the right to make the other choice as well.
It’s too bad he chooses to be such a smarmy jackass with the rest of the world, but it looks like he does have more depth than I thought. What a nice story about a caring family.
Thanks fabgrrl, unfortunately this is a situation I know too much about having lost a baby last year to Down Syndrome. Many people are unaware that the level of severity with DS varies, most fetuses do not make it to term due to the physical manifestations, as was the case with our son.
Trust me when I say that no parent takes lightly the decision to terminate a pregnancy for medical reasons. Its is an emotionally devastating and painful process.
@dingles I don’t mind your comment..we all view things differently but I have a little boy with Down syndrome and I think he views himself as independent. They are extremely social and don’t mind all the attention they receive from their families.
I could never have aborted a baby I made with my husband, who I adore.
I think that’s part of the motivation for people like me who proceed with these pregnancies. It’s as if you’re destroying part of the love you feel for this other person.
That if you did terminate that somehow who you were would be made ugly, damaged. He was the cutest guy I ever laid eyes on. Destroying something we created would sully US. Obviously my husband felt the same way.
OMG, I totally love Jamie Foxx for this.
Wouldn’t touch him with a 10 foot pole, but I appreciate that he is helping out his family, good for him.
Good for him. My parents have 8 children, 2 of which have severe mental handicaps. My brother is 26 and Autistic with other unidentifiable disorders, and my sister is 19 and, although not as severe, needs constant care. Both cannot speak and are still in nappies (Diapers). We all take care of them together.
My parents are both almost 60 and my father brings them for walks, holding there hands proudly, every day.
It is what families do. It is what families SHOULD do.
It is hard work, but they are the most loving and caring people anybody could meet. They can’t speak, but their smiles say it all.
Fair play to Jamie and his family. They sound a lot like mine.
Awwwww!! That’s sweet. I thought Jamie was hilarious back in the day, and he’s a good actor. How nice that he’s that tight with his family and takes care of them like that!
Aww thanks for posting this one. Its nice to have a positive. Its made me like him that little bit more.
Normally, I can’t stand the ponce. Even in small doses. And I would like to know what people are smoking when they say he’s good looking. But what he is doing for his sister and family is wonderful…or what he seems to be doing anyway.
@maryjane: It’s a very personal and painful decision whether or not to carry a Down syndrome pregnancy to term. I have enormous admiration and respect for people like you and your husband who were able to do this. 90% of mothers carrying Down syndrome babies choose to terminate their pregnancies, and I don’t judge them one way or the other for that. Whichever choice they make, they will have to live with it for the rest of their lives.
I have worked with several Down syndrome children, and without exception they were the sweetest, kindest and most loving and affectionate kids I have ever met.
@ Mary Jane
I hold the same viewpoint as dingles does – for me, personally, not what I think ALL people should do – but considering that you are a mother actually in this situation, your response was crazy classy. 🙂 I wish the best for you and your son.
i think he’s also the primary parent of his teenage daughter.
Jamie lives a compartmentalized life. one compartment is devotion and commitment to family. the other compartment is a talented but skeezy actor and performer. but he keeps both compartments completely walled off and separated. i can’t fault him for that.
@Cheyenne & Katija Your kind words are really appreciated and they help me.
Bless you and your family, mary jane.
Jamie,
I am proud of you and your family for treating downs syndrome as living. I am a healthcare provider and has exprience downs syndrome individuals as some of the most lovable people in the world. I wish many could be as lovable them.
lol
Honestly, I had no idea Jamie Foxx elicited so much animosity. Even with the expected, normal jealousy issues in “celebrity” situations, he really seems to rub people the wrong way. I’ve met his a couple of times over the years (I went to school with his co star from the sit com) and he’s always been more than cordial and way cool — even to people that could do nothing for him. Not saying anyone’s wrong here. We all have our differing experiences, especially with people. But it just goes to show how differently people can view someone.