He may have won the heart of Katie Holmes, but it’s come at the price of his family in Dallas, Texas, who claim they have been cruelly cut off by the Academy Award winner.
In a bombshell exclusive interview with Daily Mail, the Django Unchained actor’s aunt, Veronica Fannin, rips into Jamie Foxx, 49, – worth $85 million – saying he only cares about his celebrity lifestyle and is unwilling to help a paralyzed relative.
While Jamie has been pictured driving around Los Angeles in a gold painted Bugatti Veyron car worth $2 million, Veronica is struggling to raise $5,000 to pay medical bills for her grandson Jeffrey Todd Gilmore Jr – known as JJ – after the father-of-three, 22, was ejected from a car and left with serious injuries including a broken spine.
Happier times: In this photo, taken in July 2017, Foxx poses with his aunt Veronica Fannin (left) and his cousin Veronica Bradford (right). The family say Foxx has ceased contact with them
New priorities: Earlier this month the 49 year old Ray star was snapped enjoying time with his new girlfriend, Katie Holmes, 38, in Malibu, California
Daily Mail has reached out to Jamie’s reps for comment.
‘We’ve been reaching out to Jamie since December through his step-dad and other family members, but we’ve heard nothing,’ she told Daily Mail. ‘Nobody will give me his number. I don’t know what to do.’
JJ’s young children narrowly escaped the wreckage on Christmas Eve last year, but he was catapulted out of the window and thrown onto the freeway. He is now recovering in a home but will need a lifetime of after care.
His family have been left with no option but to set up a Go Fund Me account and take in donations from their local church – but so far they have raised less than $600.
Family affair: The Django Unchained actor’s family, pictured here with the actor in June 2017, say Foxx only cares about his celebrity lifestyle and is unwilling to help a paralyzed relative
Tragedy: JJ, pictured here with Veronica Bradford in July 2017, was catapulted out of the window and thrown onto the freeway during an automobile accident
‘Jamie knows JJ, the whole family went to his house in California last July, but fame changes people,’ Veronica blasted.
‘I heard about him dating Katie Holmes, I haven’t met her.’
‘I see him on TV, but he doesn’t get in touch anymore. He must know about the situation we are in. I am angry, I wish he would help out.’
All that glitters: While Jamie has been pictured driving around Los Angeles in a gold painted Bugatti Veyron car worth $2 million, his aunt Veronica is struggling to pay medical bills
Changed man: ‘Jamie knows JJ, the whole family went to his house in California last July, but fame changes people,’ Veronica blasted
Veronica, 56, has been juggling her time between visiting her grandson and working as a home heath-care provider.
‘JJ had surgery and has been in the nursing home since,’ she explained. ‘I’m hoping he’ll be able to walk again if he gets therapy. He can move his arms, but he still can’t feel anything in his fingers.
‘I need to adapt our home to look after him, our lives will never be the same again.’
Survivor: ‘JJ had surgery and has been in the nursing home since,’ Jamie’s aunt explained. ‘He can move his arms, but he still can’t feel anything in his fingers’
Veronica’s neighbors, LaWanda Sims and fiancé Antwan Hall, have also slammed the Collateral star for not getting in touch and claim the fame and money have gone to his head.
LaWanda, 53, said: ‘Jamie has been here a few times. He used to help the family with car payments, but he’s giving nothing now.
‘Veronica is very stressed visiting the hospital and having to work to provide for the family. She is the one everyone turns to and she is doing everything.’
Antwan, 43, added: ‘I thought he was humble and family orientated, it’s shocking! He must be worth millions from all the movies he’s been in.’
Concerned: Veronica’s neighbors, LaWanda Sims, 53, and fiancé Antwan Hall, 43, have also slammed the Collateral star for not getting in touch
Abandoned: LaWanda said: ‘Jamie has been here a few times. He used to help the family with car payments, but he’s giving nothing now’
Writing on the Go Fund Me page, JJ’s mother – named Veronica Bradford, but known as Nene – explains the severity of the situation and pleads for help from strangers in an open letter.
It reads: ‘By the grace and mercy of God my son is beginning to talk with a voice box and breathing on his own, but some added pressure on his diaphragm sometimes makes breathing difficult.
‘I as a mother can’t leave the side of my only son nor neglect being able to provide for my seven and 12-year-old daughters.
‘JJ also has babies that need their father’s support. This is very hard for me being a single mother and sole provider for my children and grandbabies.
‘Today, I am reaching out to every kind person capable of helping my son and I. We would greatly appreciate any charity you would like to share with us. I ask you also keep us in your prayers and give freely from the heart. I pray that your hearts be open and your donations even kinder. Thank you.’
No place like home: The modest house where the Any Given Sunday actor’s family live in Dallas, Texas
No frills: Foxx’s family believe that since leaving his Texas hometown, the Academy Award winner has grown out of touch
The Ray star has turned his back on his Texan family and never patched things up with Shahid Abdula, his birth father who gave him away, before his death in 2014.
One of Shahid’s good friends Bobby Spencer, 79, said: ‘Before he died Shahid would talk proudly of Jamie. He regretted them being estranged and giving Jamie up when he was little.’
Shahid died suddenly of pneumonia after suffering from scar tissue on his lungs and Bobby added: ‘He had been ill but his death was very, very sudden after he got pneumonia.’
Proud family: The Ray star, shown here in a picture taken from the 1986 Terrell High School yearbook, has turned his back on his Texan family and never patched things up
Humble beginnings: The Grammy Award winning musician, pictured here in his 1986 high school yearbook, was given away as a child by his young parents Darrell Bishop and Louise Annette Talley
His new life: Darrell and Louise let Louise’s parents, Mark and Esther Talley, adopt Jamie, pictured here in 1985, and from then on he had little contact with his birth parents
Playing favorites: The Miami Vice star, pictured here in 1986, didn’t attend his father’s funeral, but is said to have established a relationship with his birth mother
The Grammy Award winning musician was given away as a child by his young parents Darrell Bishop and Louise Annette Talley. They let Louise’s parents, Mark and Esther Talley, adopt him and from then on he had little contact with his birth parents.
Darrell split from Jamie’s mom and converted to Islam, changing his name to Shahid Abdula. The Miami Vice star didn’t attend his father’s funeral, but is said to have established a relationship with his birth mother.
Pictured here is a young Foxx (formerly Eric Bishop) in basketball gear in the 1986 Terrell High School Yearbook
Multi talented: Foxx, pictured here in 1986, attended Terrell High School, where he received top grades and played basketball and football
Name change: Jamie, pictured here in 1986, chose his new surname as a tribute to the black comedian Redd Foxx