Blackish star Jenifer Lewis feared she would be eaten alive by a lion when she fell three meters into a ravine in November 2022 during a ‘trip of a lifetime’ to Africa’s Serengeti.
The 67-year-old actress thought she had fallen to her death when she tumbled across the deck outside her hotel room in “pitch black” and remembers her body hitting “boulders, stones and sharp rocks” below.
During an exclusive interview on Good Morning America, Jenifer told Robin Roberts that as she lay “in shock” on the ground, she heard a lion roar and began to imagine herself being eaten alive and that she imagined “pieces of ‘ from her body ‘would be flown back to Earth’. States’.
Somehow, Jenifer managed to call her friend Lori – who was staying in a separate hotel room nearby – but admitted to 63-year-old Robin that it was ‘hard to even take a deep breath to scream’ .
Blackish star Jenifer Lewis feared she would be eaten alive by a lion when she fell three meters into a ravine while on holiday in Africa
After the incident in November 2022, the actress was hospitalized and fought for her life
The 67-year-old spoke exclusively about the terrifying experience with Good Morning America host Robin Roberts
Explaining that she was lying injured in the middle of the Serengeti, Jennifer said, “There are wild animals, because when Lori shone her flashlight there, she didn’t know there was a Cape buffalo ten feet away. And as Lori ran for help, I heard a lion roar.
‘My last thought – because I’m Jenifer Lewis – was, “what a head!” she cackled before continuing, “”The king ate the queen… pieces of Jenifer Lewis’ body are flown back to the United States,” as host Robin looked on sympathetically.
Remembering the night in question, Jenifer explained that she had been escorted to her lodge at the hotel. She claimed she “wasn’t given a tour” and felt she should have been given one.
“The sun was setting and when the sun sets in the Serengeti, there are no street lights, it’s pitch black,” she said. ‘I put down my safari clothes and saw the infinity pool on my terrace, so I went outside.
‘I was just thinking about being back in the Serengeti, and I was walking and all of a sudden… boom! I had fallen ten feet into a dry ravine, full of boulders, stones and sharp rocks. Robin, I fell.’
Jenifer continued, “There was an area that was not defined and there was no sign that said, ‘Be careful, fall 10 feet,’ as Robin asked her what ‘kind of pain’ she was experiencing at that moment.
‘Well, of course I was in shock. My right hip took the blow, my shoulder hit the stone, a bolt of lightning passed through my mind’s eye. In the pitch black I didn’t know I was falling and I said, ‘Move your body, baby. Come on, Jenny, move.”
Jenifer, who played Ruby Johnson in the hit TV sitcom Black-ish from 2014 to 2022, described the past year as “the hardest” and revealed to Robin that she kept her fall – and recovery – a secret because: “I “I don’t want you to know I fell until I can show you how I got back up.”
Jenifer was on the ‘trip of a lifetime’ in the Serengeti when she saw her life flash before her eyes
Jenifer had walked onto the balcony of her hotel lodge to admire the infinity pool and fell over the edge into a ravine
The TV star fell on boulders and sharp rocks and recalls it being ‘hard to even take a deep breath to scream’
Jenifer has endured a long road to recovery and describes the past year as ‘the hardest’
Robin explained to her co-hosts how her interview with Jenifer came about late last year.
“She needed that time to herself because people were like, ‘Where’s Aunt Jenny? Where’s Aunt Jenny?’” Robin said, referring to Jenifer’s private recovery.
“I mean, she wasn’t on social media and it was Niecy Nash. Late last year I was getting ready for the holidays, Niecy called and said, “You need to talk to Jenifer Lewis, she’s about to post this on social media.”
And Niecy said, “You can’t just post something like that, you have to share it,” and then she connected us to talk and I’m telling you, the extraordinary thing we put together just makes you exhale, but you also have to care laughing, because it’s Jenifer Lewis.’
The full interview with Jenifer Lewis airs tonight at 8:30 PM ET and Hulu on ABC News Live.
