LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ice-T clapped back at social media trolls who were propagating the idea that Jamie Foxx was cloned in a new video the ‘Ray’ actor shared on Instagram recently. The Oscar-winning actor shared a long video on Instagram, where he thanked his fans for their continuous support during his prolonged illness.

The ‘Cop Killer’ singer castigated Twitter users by saying, “People would rather believe that Jamie is now a Clone or Ai, than the man was just seriously sick and damn near died… Cause he doesn’t look EXACTLY the same??? YOU look different after a bad cold! Smh weirdos…”

Foxx himself quashed several such theories in the video. He said, "Now, you know, by being quiet sometimes things get out of hand. People saying what I got, some people said I was blind, but as you can see ... the eyes are working just fine. Said I'm paralyzed — I'm not paralyzed." However, he said that he "went to hell and back.”

How did the bizarre 'They Cloned Jamie' trend start?

The bizarre trend started when Twitter users began posting side-by-side photos of Foxx from the Instagram video and before he was admitted to a hospital. One user wrote (to whom Ice-T replied), “What's going on with Jamie Foxx?” The thread naturally started a plethora of conversations. While many rejected the theory on the grounds that the actor had been hospitalized for a long time and was still recovering, there were a staggering number of people who were in favor of the theory that Foxx's clone appeared in the video.

Similar to the previous one, another social media user too posted a similar collage of photos with the caption, “Are we really supposed to believe that was Jamie Foxx......Looks like they are ready to roll out the clone.....,” with a slew of hashtags including “#WeWantAnswers #JamieFoxx #Cloned.”

Those who believe in the wild theory claimed the man who appeared in the Instagram video was not the real Foxx but a clone. Most of these theorists questioned how the skull could change its shape.

'Who is this? This is not the same person'

After the theory spread, a fan highlighted the difference between "similar" and "same," saying, "Preach baby!! Similar, BUT NOT THE SAME!!" Another commented, "...That ain't the real Jamie...(long gone)" A third opined, "Wow, his skull shape just magically changed. Shocker!"

"Dude doesn’t even talk the same now!" declared another. Someone else said, "That's not the same person." "Totally not the same guy. They think we are that stu-pid," said an affronted fan.

"He isn't Jamie Foxx anymore.This is just my opinion or pure speculation, but I think the clot shot might have gotten him or something else and his image has been replaced. I could be totally wrong but something is definitely off," theorized a netizen. Another fan quipped, "Who is this? This is not the same person. This is misinformation." "Not a very good clone...? They're getting worse and worse! The Cloning labs in Ukraine must not be operating any longer maybe?" commented someone else.

'He looks like he lost a lot of weight'

However, there were many fans who spoke out in Foxx's defense, highlighting the fact that he was sick and hospitalized for the majority of the past few months. A fan said, "This is what happens when people nearly die from a medical condition. He's lucky to be alive." Another seemingly slammed critics by saying, "Save the clone comments. The guy was very sick for the last few months. Probably took a lot for him to even take this picture." Another fan said, "The dude literally just got through a life threatening health scare that he explained in the video, the f is even this question?"

A fourth said, "Well, we’ve kind of see a lot of that physical changes in appearances when people go through a lot of medical issues, so I don’t think it’s too far off possibly." "He got very sick. That can make you look really rough. I know many of us want confirmation that it was from the Covid vaccine, but I don’t think that we’ll ever get confirmation. I know that it’s his personal medical record and we don’t have the right to know. But I would like to," commented another. Someone else explained, "He nearly died and has clearly been in a coma or long stay in a hospital bed, you lose weight, muscles atrophy and you lose colour because your body isn’t functioning properly."