Jamie Foxx Honored by Stevie Wonder & Reflects on Health Scare at BET Awards: ‘You Can’t Go Through Something Like That & Not Testify’

Stevie Wonder surprised everyone at the 2025 BET Awards when he stepped out to honor his longtime friend Jamie Foxx.

During the 2025 BET Awards on Monday (June 9), Jamie Foxx was set to be honored with the Ultimate Icon Award. Throughout the night, it was teased that a “special guest” would appear onstage to give Foxx his award. That guest was none other than Stevie Wonder.

Babyface and Ludacris also popped out to pay tribute to the artistic titan, performing a cover of “Unpredictable” — the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 title track from Foxx’s 2005 album — while Tank tackled a cover of Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time.” Foxx famously portrayed Charles in the 2004 film Ray, for which he won the best actor Oscar. Jennifer Hudson then took the helm and bodied a soulful cover of “Gold Digger,” a 10-week Hot 100 No. 1 for Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Foxx back in 2005. T-Pain and Doug E. Fresh then popped out to close out the celebration with a rockin’ cover of the 2009 No. 2 Hot 100 hit “Blame It.” Through it all, Foxx could be seen laughing, nodding along and having a great time.

“Jamie, look at me!” Stevie joked at the end of the show before inviting Jamie to speak. “I remember seeing you the first time at a club, playing piano and singing, but I knew from the moment I heard you sing that you had so much more. I admire and celebrate your talent and your love — for blind people. I’m very happy to be here tonight to see you honored as you so very well deserve.”

During his acceptance speech, Foxx thanked all his friends and loved ones for showing up for him while he went through life-threatening medical complications back in 2023. He added that when he saw the “In Memorium” segment, it made him reflect on his own health scare.

“You can’t go through something like that and not testify,” Foxx concluded to a roar of applause. “A career that I could only thank God for.”