Jamie Foxx pays tribute to late actor Keith Jefferson: 'Goodbye, my friend'

Jamie Foxx is mourning the loss of longtime friend and fellow actor Keith Jefferson.

Foxx revealed the news of Jefferson's passing in a series of posts on his Instagram Thursday. "This one hurts," the Oscar winner wrote in one. "Keith, you've been nothing but absolute grace, your whole life your heart is pure your love is immeasurable you were an amazing soul."

He continued, "We will all miss you dearly. It's gonna take a long time for this to heal. Goodbye, my friend. I love you."

Though Foxx's posts didn't mention details of Jefferson's passing, the late actor revealed in a post to his Instagram on Aug. 9 that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Foxx commented on the post at the time with words of encouragement, writing, "I love you my brother we will beat this."

Foxx and Jefferson have worked together numerous times over the years, starting with two episodes of the sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show in 1998 and 1999. They went on to appear together in Quentin Tarantino's 2012 movie Django Unchained, which featured Foxx in the title role, as well as Foxx's 2022 film Day Shift and several episodes of Dad Stop Embarrassing Me! in 2021.

Jamie Foxx/Instagram Keith Jefferson (left) and Jamie Foxx

In a followup Instagram post, Foxx revealed that he was having a difficult time processing the news of his friend's death. "Everything hurts right now having a hard time looking through these pictures reliving the memories of us having a great time going to miss you man gonna miss you," he wrote.

Jefferson also had roles in The Hateful Eight, Bosch: Legacy, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and more. He also worked as a producer, voiceover artist, and acting coach. Jefferson was 53. In a statement to EW, his talent agent Nicole St. John called Jefferson "a tremendous talent" and "a profound loss to the artistic community". She adds that Jefferson had several projects in the works and in production and had been looking forward to returning in the new year. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family," she says.

Jefferson and Foxx can next be seen in The Burial, which opens wide in theaters Oct. 13.

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