Tommy Davidson Recalls Jamie Foxx’s "Mean" & "Competitive" Ways On Set

Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx has come a long way in his career since his start as a small-time stand-up comedian. He’s put in the work to become an A-list actor, but according to his former In Living Color co-star Tommy Davidson, Foxx wasn’t always the easiest person to work with. The pair starred on the hit 1990s comedy show and repeatedly worked together on hilarious scenes that have gone down in television history, but Davidson shares in his forthcoming memoir that Foxx often acted like a “mercifully mean” bully.

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In Davidson’s book Living In Color, which hits shelves on January 28, the actor gave a few examples of how Foxx would allegedly do his best to get under Davidson’s skin. He wrote about working with Foxx on In Living Color during a scene when Foxx portrayed hs famous, less-than-attractive female character Wanda. In the scene, Wanda gives Davidson’s unsuspecting character a massage, but according to Davidson, Foxx decided to do a little improv and attempted to pull Davidson’s underwear off in front of the audience for a “cheap laugh.”

Davidson admitted his initial reaction was to “bust him in his mouth, saying, ‘What the f–k, motherf–ka!’” but he didn’t. He also called Foxx a “competitive” type who teased Davidson in order to “score points” with In Living Color creator Keenen Ivory Wayans. The pair also worked together in the future on the comedy film Booty Call, but Davidson said Foxx was “determined to steal every scene he could” even though he was a supporting role. 

Once, Davidson said Foxx even took a low blow while they were playing one-on-one on the basketball court. “If I had hit my head on the hardtop concrete, that would have been the end of me,” he wrote, according to Page Six. “I was ready to give Jamie some street-fighting lessons too, but the crew pulled us off each other and held me back.” He added, “Maybe [Foxx is] a better person now. I would like to believe he is.” Check out the massage scene Davidson referenced, below.