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Toni Braxton is weighing in on the "medical complication" that sent Jamie Foxx to the hospital last month after suffering a life-threatening health issue of her own.
On Wednesday (May 17), Braxton, who's navigated having lupus for over 15 years, described the "choice" celebrities face of whether to open up to the public about their medical issues. "I think when you're going through things, it's hard for you to be an advocate while you're going through it," Braxton exclusively told the Black Information Network. "For me, I got through it. I made it through, so I can talk about it."
"I think it's difficult for people who are in the now of their bodies," she added, referring to limited information Foxx and his family have released about the actor's recent "medical complication."
Braxton said she doesn't know the exact details of Foxx's health issue, but he is likely trying to accept what's happening to his body before revealing it to the public. "I don't know what he's going through or what's going on in his life, but I would imagine right now he's trying to recuperate or recover. So it would be difficult for him to talk to someone about it because he's trying to see what's going on with his own body," she said.
Braxton's comments come after Foxx's family revealed on April 12 that he had suffered an unidentified "medical complication." Amid his health scare, Foxx and his daughter, Corinne Foxx, were replaced as hosts on FOX game show, Beat Shazam.
Earlier this month, Corinne shut down social media speculation that her father was still in the hospital and possibly on life support. "Update from the family: Sad to see how the media runs wild," she said on Instagram. "My Dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating."
As for Braxton, the 55-year-old singer got candid about her own struggles with going public about her journey with lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation affecting the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.
"Like me myself having lupus, when I was going through it, I would not want to talk about it. I wouldn't want to talk about [it] on the hospital bed and what the doctors were doing," Braxton told BIN.
The singer revealed this month that she underwent emergency heart surgery following "life-threatening" complications with her lupus. Now that she's recovered, Braxton said she wants to continue using her platform to bring awareness to the disease. "It was the scariest moment of my life. And if I could take the stigma away for people and help them, you know, you've got to pay it forward," Braxton shared with BIN.
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